Meta’s Oversight Board is unhappy with the company after it made significant changes to its content policies in January. The board criticized Meta for rushing the updates without being clear about any human rights checks that were done beforehand.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, admitted that past moderation efforts led to too many errors and instances of censorship. This shift comes as Meta tries to improve its relationship with conservatives, especially after former President Trump faced criticism of the platform during his presidency. Trump’s suspension from Facebook following the January 6 Capitol events was lifted as he began his campaign for the 2024 election.
In the January overhaul, Meta ended its U.S. fact-checking program, replacing it with a Community Notes tool that resembles a feature on Elon Musk’s platform, X. The company also relaxed restrictions on hate speech against LGBTQ individuals and decided to focus its moderation efforts mainly on serious issues like terrorism and child exploitation, rather than minor policy violations.
The Oversight Board made 17 recommendations to Meta, including better enforcement of bullying policies and clearer guidelines on what hateful ideologies are still banned. They expressed concern that these changes could have serious effects in conflict-affected countries and urged Meta to evaluate the new Community Notes tool’s effectiveness, requesting reports every six months.
While Meta agreed to respond to these recommendations within 60 days, they did uphold some of their controversial content decisions, such as allowing discussions about transgender bathroom access but removing posts with racist slurs. Meta welcomed the decisions that favored free expression but did not comment on the calls for content removal.
Despite ongoing tensions, Meta has committed to funding the Oversight Board through 2027, pledging at least $35 million annually to ensure the board’s independence. Paolo Carozza, co-chair of the board, stated there is no indication that Meta is moving away from supporting the board or planning major changes to their relationship.