Meta’s Oversight Board expressed indignation at the social media giant for its January policy overhaul that axed fact-checking and eased restrictions on discussions about immigration and gender identity.
The independent oversight board railed against the company for implementing the changes “hastily” with supposedly no transparency about “what, if any, prior human rights due diligence” was performed.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that previous content moderation efforts had resulted in “too many mistakes and too much censorship.”
President Trump had frequently criticized Facebook during his first term, culminating in his platform suspension following the January 6, 2021, Capitol events — a ban eventually lifted as he launched his successful 2024 campaign.
Since President Trump’s election to a second term, the Meta CEO has been working to mend fences and roll back a decade of content policies that prohibited “hate speech” and supposed misinformation that conservatives have long criticized as biased.
As part of the January policy overhaul, Meta scrapped its U.S. fact-checking program, replacing third-party partnerships with a Community Notes tool similar to Elon Musk’s X, per Reuters.
In addition, Meta removed restrictions on “hate speech” towards LGBT individuals, and also announced it would stop proactively scanning platforms for “less severe policy violations,” instead focusing its automated systems only on serious content like terrorism and child exploitation.
Among its 17 recommendations, the board requested that Meta improve enforcement of its bullying policies while clarifying which hateful ideologies remain banned.
The board expressed concern about potential impacts in countries experiencing conflicts, urging Meta to “assess whether the changes could have uneven consequences globally.”
Despite the success of Community Notes on X, the Oversight Board still requested that Meta assess the new tool’s effectiveness and release reports every six months.
Meta said it would respond to the board’s 17 recommendations within 60 days.
The board did uphold Meta’s decisions to allow some controversial content, including posts discussing transgender people’s access to bathrooms, while requiring the removal of posts with racist slurs.
A Meta told Reuters the company welcomed decisions “that leave up or restore content in the interest of promoting free expression,” but did not address rulings calling for content removal.
Despite tensions, Meta has so far committed to funding the Oversight Board through 2027, allocating at least $35 million annually over the next three years, placed in an Irrevocable Trust designed to protect the board’s independence.
Oversight Board Co-Chair Paolo Carozza stated, “We have no reason to think that Meta is soured on the board or planning to make any large-scale structural changes in terms of its commitment with the board.”
