Facebook faces criticism for shortcomings of its self-proclaimed ‘supreme court’

Facebook’s response to the recommendations made by its Oversight Board has come under scrutiny. While the recommendations are not legally binding, they serve as a way for the company to address concerns in the absence of social media regulations. The company is expected to respond to the board within 30 days, but Facebook claimed that meeting this deadline is often a challenge. According to their report, assessing the feasibility of the majority of these recommendations requires the input of more than a dozen individuals, making it difficult to complete within the given time frame. Furthermore, incorporating these recommendations into existing initiatives and priorities poses an additional obstacle. Critics, like Christina O’Connell from activist group SumOfUs, argue that Facebook’s response is concerning, especially after the Oversight Board publicly revealed that Facebook has not fully cooperated with their requests for information. O’Connell suggested that if Facebook cannot be transparent with their own board, the board should resign or the company should bring in independent management. The Oversight Board itself has called on Facebook to improve its responses and provide greater transparency in content moderation, treating all users fairly. Although Facebook claimed to have implemented a significant number of the board’s recommendations, the board emphasized that more work needs to be done. As of now, the company has fully implemented 12 of the 69 recommendations, with another 11 in progress and 12 implemented partially. Facebook stated that it is assessing the feasibility of 17 recommendations. In 13 cases, the company already follows the recommended actions, while in four cases, it has taken no action, citing concerns for staff safety. Damian Collins, the MP chairing the parliamentary committee overseeing the online safety bill, commented that if Facebook cannot address its own Oversight Board’s requests, it will face significant challenges when the Online Safety Bill becomes law. An independent regulator will then have access to information that Facebook currently hides from its Oversight Board and will be able to enforce actions against illegal and harmful content, holding Facebook accountable to its terms of service. The Oversight Board lacks the authority to achieve this level of change, further highlighting the need for reform.