Facebook Supreme Court

About

Facebook Supreme Court is a proposed internal and independent moderation team that will oversee various decisions and debates regarding Facebook's content moderation policies.

History

On November 15th, 2018, Facebook^[1] founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a post on the site's blog entitled "A Blueprint for Content Governance and Enforcement." In the post, he discussed then-recent content moderation issues that had begun to overtake the site's public perception. In response to the problem, Zuckerberg announced that the company would be an "independent body" to look into these issues. He wrote:

A full system requires addressing both governance and enforcement. I will discuss how we're proactively enforcing our policies to remove more harmful content, preventing borderline content from spreading, giving people more control of their experience, and creating independent oversight and transparency into our systems.

On June 27th, 2019, Facebook published a 44-page document on the future of content moderation on Facebook.^[2] The document, "Global Feedback and Input on the Facebook Oversight Board for Content Decisions," explained how the board that is colloquially known as the Facebook Supreme Court would be formed.

Since November, the company has held six workshops around the world and "22 roundtables attended by more than 650 people from 88 different countries." The company aims to put together a 41-person board that would exercise "independent judgment" over moderation issues. These "members should be experts who come from different backgrounds, different disciplines, and different viewpoints, but who can all represent the interests of a global community," according to Facebook.

Overall, they aim to decide on "important and disputed cases" in regards to content moderation.

Features

The Board members will not be lifetime appointments, but rather three-year terms that are renewable once. The board will feature between 40 and 41 members, depending on the need for tie-breaking.

The company writes:

Facebook has suggested that Board members serve a fixed term of three years, renewable once. Other suggestions included varied term lengths; staggered appointments; and shorter term lengths, given the “rapid pace of change” in content and technology. However, while some felt that three years was too long, others felt it was not long enough. The latter believed that more time is necessary for members to become acquainted with their responsibilities, as well as the complexities of content governance.

Feedback was similarly split on the size of the Board. Facebook has suggested up to 40 members on the initial Board, which would be global in nature and organized to operate and decide on cases in panels. Some felt this number was too small and expressed concern over “docket management” and “caseloads.” Others, conversely, found the number to be unwieldy and unmanageable. Still others, on a more practical level, suggested that the Board include 41 members, in case a tiebreak would be required.

Search Interest

External References