FB PANEL TO START ACCEPTING REQUESTS FROM USERS TO REMOVE CONTENT

Facebook’s independent oversight board said on Tuesday it would start accepting requests to remove “harmful content” that users believe has been wrongly allowed to remain on the social network.

The move has the potential to vastly expand the work of the so-called “supreme court” of Facebook, which up to now had been tasked with reviewing instances of whether content was improperly taken down from Facebook or Instagram.

The oversight board, set up by Facebook to deal with contentious questions of content moderation, began operating last year and issued its first rulings in January. The decisions, which can overrule Facebook management, are binding.

“Enabling users to appeal content they want to see removed from Facebook is a significant expansion of the Oversight Board’s capabilities,” said Thomas Hughes, director of the body’s administration.

“The board was created to ensure that fewer decisions about highly significant content issues be taken by Facebook alone, and that better decisions can be delivered through an independent and transparent process that works to safeguard human rights and freedom of expression. Today’s announcement is another step towards realising this.”