The job cuts will likely add to the challenges facing the Oversight Board at a time when it has been criticized for moving too slowly and cautiously in issuing decisions and opinions that significantly shape how Meta manages controversial debates on freedom of expression. The cuts could also affect the Oversight Board’s long-standing quest to be seen as a viable model of governance for the social media industry in the eyes of regulators, civil society groups and the general public.
Stephen Neal, chairman of the Oversight Board Trust, said in a statement that the “targeted reductions” will allow the Oversight Board “to further optimize our operations by prioritizing the most impactful aspects of our work.”.”
“The Council continues to be one of the world’s leading content moderation organizations and Meta remains committed to its continued success and the Council has every confidence that the company will provide additional funding in the future,” Neal added.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement that the company “remains committed to the Oversight Board” and “continues to strongly support its work.”
“We value the Board’s views, have implemented all of their binding content decisions to date, and will continue to update our policies and practices in response to their feedback,” Stone added.
Meta conceived of the Oversight Board as an experiment in 2019, as regulators around the world attempted to develop uniform rules governing social media platforms. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had argued that his company should not be able to make “so many important decisions” about how internet platforms should balance their desire to support free speech with their desire to protect users from harmful content.
But critics quickly questioned that idea, arguing that a board that depends on the company for funding and information would not have enough power to force the company to address long-standing problems such as misinformation and hate speech.
Oversight Board leaders have signaled in recent months that the organization will likely have to cut costs, the sources said. The job cuts are expected to largely affect staff who support board members who advise on Meta’s content moderation decisions, the sources said. The 22-member board of directors is supported by staff whose responsibilities include researching, translating and promoting the organization’s work.
The board also explored opportunities that would expand its reach and funding sources beyond Meta, including becoming a de facto appeals body for content moderation cases on other platforms under the European Union’s Digital Services Act, the sources said.
In 2022, the Oversight Board announced that Meta would invest an additional $150 million to fund the Oversight Board’s independent trust, which is managed exclusively by the board of directors, for three years. The company previously gave the board $130 million in 2019 when the Trust launched.
In recent months, the Oversight Board has increased the number of high-profile cases it has handled as well as the breadth of content it reviews. The Oversight Board recently announced it would begin reviewing posts on Meta’s text-based social media app Threads, which is meant to rival X.
The Oversight Board has handled a range of cases over the years, including its recent criticism of Meta’s manipulated media policy after an altered video of President Biden was released on Facebook. The move prompted Meta to expand its labeling of artificial intelligence-generated content. The Oversight Board also questioned whether Meta should have suspended then-President Donald Trump’s account for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Under these rules, Meta and its users are allowed to appeal to the Oversight Board in cases where the company has removed posts for violating its community standards – rules it imposes against hate speech , harassment and other types of problematic content. The decisions that the Supervisory Board makes in these cases are considered binding.
Additionally, the Oversight Board may issue policy recommendations to change the company’s content moderation systems, but these are not considered binding.
Meta has carried out its own cost reduction. Zuckerberg dubbed 2023 the company’s “year of efficiency,” which included cutting thousands of jobs and flattening the company’s hierarchy. Following the reductions, the company’s shares have rebounded over the past year as Meta develops a suite of new AI-based services.
washingtonpost
