The Oversight Board (Lauren Mesley - Blog Post #9)

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In the trenches of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Meta’s Oversight Board was created. This committee is often described as the Supreme Court of Meta. It generally serves to oversee content moderation and freedom of speech on Facebook and Instagram as a response to the growing misinformation epidemic on these platforms. 

Before writing this post, I had never heard of them. But in my research, I learned some very interesting things. In the video that the Oversight Board has posted to YouTube which explains who they are and what they do, the Board claims to be legally and financially independent of Meta. At this point in the video, I’m thinking this group was created by folks who had nothing to do with Meta but cared deeply about this issue. In fact, they discuss the work they do in the video in very general terms: “At the Oversight Board, we believe that social media companies should not make so many important decisions about freedom of expression and online safety on their own.” Here, they talk about “social media companies,” not Meta specifically. 

But as I did more research, it turns out that the Oversight Board was, indeed, created by Meta. I also learned that Meta does not have to do anything that the Board recommends. And so the Board exists… to what end? So that Meta can claim that they’re being held accountable? The Board doesn’t have any actual power if Meta can ignore everything it says. 

I’m glad to see some attempt at accountability for Meta, but it’s not enough. We need an Oversight Board that is actually independent from all social media platforms and has some power to force these companies to make better decisions about freedom of expression on their platforms. Corporations won’t change for the good of humanity, they change because we force them to. 

Comments

  1. Lizzy SblendorioNovember 3, 2025 at 3:28 PM

    Hi Lauren!
    I laughed out loud when you called Meta's Oversight Board the Supreme Court of Meta! Because it is so true, its the higher ups that count.
    I also agree with you that we need an Oversight Board that is independent. When we have a person in charge, they need to be separate from all other platforms. Its favoritism at its finest.

    ReplyDelete

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