The Facebook Oversight Board has a nearly impossible task but, if it succeeds, it’s open to other platforms joining its efforts.
The Facebook Oversight Board has been called Facebook’s “Supreme Court” by Mark Zuckerberg. As such, the Oversight Board deals with Facebook’s most challenging issues, reviewing various content moderation decisions to see if the action taken was warranted. The decisions include the upcoming review of Facebook’s decision to ban Donald Trump’s account.
The Oversight Board has its sights set higher, including the possibility of serving in that capacity for other platforms. In a conversation hosted by the Carnegie Endowment, via TechCrunch, former Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt and current Oversight Board co-chair outlined the possibility.
If the project is a success “other platforms and other tech companies are more than welcome to join and be part of the oversight that we will be able to provide,” said Thorning-Schmidt.
It remains to be seen if the Oversight Board will succeed and, even if it does, other companies may be hesitant to trust their moderation to a Facebook entity. Newly introduced legislation to reform Section 230 could also impact the Oversight Board’s long-term duties.