Meta asks Facebook oversight board whether COVID-19 misinformation policies are still 'appropriate'



Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has asked its oversight board to review whether the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policies are still "appropriate," signaling the company may take a step back from censoring entire categories of false claims about the virus.

In January 2020, Facebook adopted a sweeping misinformation policy that purported to remove false claims about the emerging pandemic that "presented unique risks to public health and safety." The company banned posts that compared the coronavirus to the flu, for example, or those that promoted off-label use of drugs like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin or raised questions about the lab-leak origins theory of the virus. The company has also targeted skeptics of the COVID-19 vaccines.

As a result of these policies, Meta removed more than 25 million pieces of content since the start of the pandemic, said Nick Clegg, Meta president of Global Affairs, in a blog post.

"Meta began removing false claims about masking, social distancing and the transmissibility of the virus. In late 2020, when the first vaccine became available, we also began removing further false claims, such as the vaccine being harmful or ineffective. Meta’s policy currently provides for removal of 80 distinct false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines," Clegg wrote.

But now, Clegg wrote that "the time is right" for Meta to reconsider its heavy-handed censorship policies.

"The world has changed considerably since 2020. We now have Meta’s COVID-19 Information Center, and guidance from public health authorities is more readily available. Meta’s COVID-19 Information Center has connected over two billion people across 189 countries to helpful, authoritative COVID-19 information," Clegg wrote.

Acknowledging that the pandemic has "evolved" with the successful development and widespread use of vaccines, as well as better information from public health authorities, Clegg wrote that Meta is seeking an advisory opinion on whether it should continue to label or take down content that promotes COVID-19 misinformation.

"Meta is fundamentally committed to free expression and we believe our apps are an important way for people to make their voices heard. But some misinformation can lead to an imminent risk of physical harm, and we have a responsibility not to let this content proliferate," Clegg wrote.

"The policies in our Community Standards seek to protect free expression while preventing this dangerous content. But resolving the inherent tensions between free expression and safety isn’t easy, especially when confronted with unprecedented and fast-moving challenges, as we have been in the pandemic. That’s why we are seeking the advice of the Oversight Board in this case. Its guidance will also help us respond to future public health emergencies."

Meta's oversight board consists of an international team of independent academics, law professors, journalists, human rights activists, and other experts with backgrounds related to global politics and digital content moderation. The purpose of the board is to review appeals to Facebook's content moderation decisions and independently determine whether Meta made the right decision according to its own policies. While its decisions are "binding," Meta remains responsible for following through with the board's decisions.

Most notably, the oversight board ruled in May 2021 that Facebook's decision to suspend former President Donald Trump was "justified," but that the company was wrong to suspend him indefinitely.

Facebook’s Top Censorship Board Is Filled With Elite, Power-Loving Bureaucrats

The board is made of elite academic and government employees who have demonstrated they give anything but an accurate and fair look at content moderation.

Facebook Will Keep Trump Suspended For Two Years Minimum

Facebook announced Friday that former President Donald Trump would remain banned on its platforms, including Instagram, through the 2022 midterms.
BLOCKED ... AGAIN! Facebook DOUBLES DOWN on Trump Ban | The News & Why It Matters | Ep 773

BLOCKED ... AGAIN! Facebook DOUBLES DOWN on Trump Ban | The News & Why It Matters | Ep 773

Campaign urging Facebook users to delete their accounts takes off after oversight board upholds Trump suspension



A campaign urging Facebook users to delete their accounts is gaining traction after the company's oversight board ruled to uphold the tech giant's decision to ban former President Donald Trump from using Facebook and its sister platform, Instagram.

What are the details?

After the board's Wednesday decision, #DeleteFacebook began trending across social media as GOP leaders demanded the company be broken up and held accountable for stifling free speech.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that the company seems "more interested in acting like a Democrat super PAC than a platform for free speech and open debate."

Trump himself issued a statement on the decision, condemning the company.

His remarks read, "What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process."

#DeleteFacebook, according to a Newsweek report, began trending on various platforms, as users expressed their disappointment with the tech company and debated deleting their related social media profiles.

According to the Washington Examiner, "thousands" of Twitter posts with the hashtag were made on Wednesday.

"Some of the tweets," the outlet wrote, "were encouraging Facebook users to delete their accounts on the platform, alleging unfair censorship, while others were simply using the hashtag in a humorous fashion."

A contingent of Twitter users also reportedly shared detailed steps on how to permanently delete Facebook.

On Wednesday, USA Today published an article titled "Delete your Facebook profile: How to quit after Trump ban decision."

According to USA Today writers Brett Molina and Josh Rivera, there are two ways to disable your Facebook page — either deactivate or delete your account.

From the article:

  • Deactivate your account: According to Facebook, this move disables your profile and removes most of the comments or photos you have shared. Information such as direct messages to friends and your name in another person's friends list may still appear. Your account will reactivate any time you log in. Also important: If you use any services where a Facebook login is required, that will reactivate your account, too, which means everything is restored.
  • Delete your account: If you are serious about removing Facebook from your life, you can request that your account be deleted in the Settings & Privacy area. As the option suggests, everything tied to your account is removed. Facebook says it may take up to 90 days to have all photos, status updates and other information completely removed. However, during the process, no one can view your account. Deleting also means no more commenting on websites requiring a Facebook login. It could also affect how you access apps if you chose to sign in with your Facebook credentials.

To delete your account:

  • Click on the drop-down menu in the top right of Facebook.
  • Select Settings & Privacy, then click Settings.
  • Click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
  • Click Deactivation and Deletion.
  • Choose Permanently Delete Account, then click Continue to Account Deletion.
  • Click Delete Account, enter your password and then click Continue.

Oversight board says Trump violated Facebook rules but company was wrong to 'indefinitely' suspend him



Former President Donald Trump will not be returning to Facebook in the immediate future after the company's oversight board upheld the decision to restrict Trump's access to his Facebook page and Instagram account.

However, the board also found that Facebook's decision to suspend Trump indefinitely was arbitrary and violated its own stated policies. It accused the company of applying a "vague, standardless penalty" on Trump and then seeking to avoid responsibility for its decision by handing the matter over to the oversight board. The board refused to tell Facebook what its policy should be and has ordered the company to review the matter and "justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform" within six months.

In a statement responding to the ruling, Trump accused big tech companies of suppressing free speech.

"What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before," Trump said. "The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process."

The much-anticipated ruling creates a precedent for how Facebook will manage content from political leaders and may also create a framework for other social media platforms to follow.

Last year, Facebook spent $130 million to create and fund its independent oversight board, which is an international team of academics, law professors, journalists, human rights activists, and other experts with backgrounds related to global politics and digital content moderation. The purpose of the board is to review appeals to the social media platform's content moderation decisions and independently determine whether Facebook made the right decision according to its own policies. The board's decisions are binding, but Facebook is ultimately responsible for following the board's instructions.

On Wednesday, the oversight board ruled that Trump's social media posts on Jan. 6 during the violence at the U.S. Capitol "severely violated Facebook's Community Standards and Instagram's Community Guidelines," which prohibit praise or support of people engaged in violence.

"The Board found that, in maintaining an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr. Trump created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible," the decision states. "At the time of Mr. Trump's posts, there was a clear, immediate risk of harm and his words of support for those involved in the riots legitimized their violent actions."

"Given the seriousness of the violations and the ongoing risk of violence, Facebook was justified in suspending Mr. Trump's accounts on January 6 and extending that suspension on January 7," the board said, but it added that "it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose an 'indefinite' suspension."

"It is not permissible for Facebook to keep a user off the platform for an undefined period, with no criteria for when or whether the account will be restored," the board explained before going on to criticize Facebook's actions.

In applying this penalty, Facebook did not follow a clear, published procedure. 'Indefinite' suspensions are not described in the company's content policies. Facebook's normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.

It is Facebook's role to create necessary and proportionate penalties that respond to severe violations of its content policies. The Board's role is to ensure that Facebook's rules and processes are consistent with its content policies, its values and its human rights commitments.

In applying a vague, standardless penalty and then referring this case to the Board to resolve, Facebook seeks to avoid its responsibilities. The Board declines Facebook's request and insists that Facebook apply and justify a defined penalty.

The board is requiring Facebook to undergo a review of its "arbitrary penalty" on Trump and within six months develop a clear and defined penalty for the former president consistent with its stated policies and "based on the gravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm."

In a statement responding to the decision, Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications Nick Clegg said Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts will remain suspended while the company reviews the board's decision.

"We will now consider the board's decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate. In the meantime, Mr. Trump's accounts remain suspended," he said.

The board also called on Facebook to clarify how content moderation decisions on users with large audiences are made.

"Facebook should publicly explain the rules that it uses when it imposes account-level sanctions against influential users," the board said. It further recommended that Facebook specifically explain how it assigns strikes and penalties against users and provide users with accessible information on how many violations, strikes, and penalties have been assigned to them, among other recommendations.

Republicans were quick to attack the decision.

"Our right to freedom of speech comes from the Constitution, not Facebook's 'Oversight Board,'" RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted. "Big Tech has become an extension of the left's woke mob and Congress should hold them accountable."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accused Facebook of "acting like a Democrat Super PAC" instead of "a platform for free speech and open debate."

"A House Republican majority will rein in big tech power over our speech," he said.

Facebook is more interested in acting like a Democrat Super PAC than a platform for free speech and open debate.I… https://t.co/uO7Yb34edW

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) 1620222045.0

Several Republican lawmakers called on Congress to break up Facebook's "monopoly" with an "antitrust agenda."

If Republicans take back power it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll go after Facebook in a concerted way this time. Here’… https://t.co/CJleurdwto

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) 1620224771.0

Facebook’s status as a monopoly has led its leaders to believe it can silence and censor Americans' speech with no… https://t.co/hgGVvSxlmI

— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) 1620226985.0

Break them up. https://t.co/J6nnipCG6v

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) 1620221871.0

Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff under Trump, blasted the decision on Fox News, calling it a "sad day for America."

Mark Meadows' immediate reaction to Trump remaining banned: "It's a sad day for America. It's a sad day for Faceboo… https://t.co/XhfsSGUGFv

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) 1620221631.0

With conservative lawmakers infuriated over Facebook's decision, Meadows predicted that the "wild, wild West kind of regulatory environment" surrounding big tech companies is "going to change."