Meta’s Oversight Board reveals that its efforts over the past two years have helped to make Meta’s policies more transparent to users, although the social media giant still needs to improve in some key areas. The board, which has nearly 24 experts in free speech and human rights, has published its annual report documenting its work, including its interactions with Meta over the past year. The latest report highlights the positive impact the board’s recommendations have had on the company, signalling that systemic changes have been made to Meta’s rules and how they are enforced, particularly on user notifications and its rules on dangerous organisations. However, the report also highlights areas in which Meta could improve, such as better aligning the policies of Instagram and Facebook and providing context and nuance for its content moderators. Additionally, there is low transparency over Meta’s exception that allows some rule-breaking content to stay online if deemed to have “public interest value”. The Oversight Board argues that “little is known about the process” Meta uses for making such decisions.
