Facebook’s Oversight Board has announced the selection of its first six cases to review – five user appeals and one case referred by Facebook.
Announced back in May of this year, Facebook’s Oversight Board is a body that makes content moderation decisions about appeals regarding blocked or removed content on the platform. It was proposed two years ago by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and the first board members were announced in May.
Today, the Oversight Board announced the selection of its first six cases to review – five user appeals, and one significant and difficult case referred by Facebook.
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“This model of independent oversight represents a new chapter in online governance, and we’re committed to implementing the board’s decisions. We look forward to the board’s first decisions, which should be issued in the months to come.”
The Oversight Board is a body separate from Facebook that you can appeal to if you disagree when Facebook takes down your content on Facebook or Instagram. Last month, it started accepting cases and will continue to do so as it considers the outcome of the six cases that have been selected.
These are:
- A case concerning comments made by a public figure about violence against French people.
- A case concerning a photo of a deceased child and commentary on China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
- A case concerning historical photos purportedly showing churches in Baku and a caption indicating disdain for Azerbaijani people and support for Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
- A case concerning photos with nudity related to breast cancer symptoms.
- A case concerning a post that contained an alleged quote from Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany.
- A case concerning a post in a Group claiming hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin is a cure for COVID-19 and criticizing the French government’s response to COVID-19.
Furthermore, the board also announced that its public comment system is live for anyone from the general public to submit their perspectives. A post for each case the board reviews will be available at about.fb.com/oversight.
Each post will be updated once the Oversight makes its decision. Similarly, if the board issues a policy advisory statement, the post will be updated again with its response. If you’ve submitted a case, and you’d like to view it for updates, you can log on to the Oversight Board website.
Further down the line, as the board hears more cases, a comprehensive searchable archive of case decisions and actions will be made available.