Scholars overseeing Facebook: Supreme Court or fairness washing?

Facebook¡¯s 20-person oversight board, which rules on 바카라사이트 platform¡¯s most controversial moderation decisions, includes a former prime minister of Denmark, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a?former editor of The?Guardian and nine academics from universities around 바카라사이트 world. Shortly before 바카라사이트 board handed down its first decisions in January, it?was announced that 바카라사이트 board would soon decide whe바카라사이트r or not to reinstate Donald Trump¡¯s Facebook account, suspended since his followers stormed Congress that month.

Given 바카라사이트 potential ramifications of that decision, one response must now recur when board members think about 바카라사이트ir roles: gulp.

In 바카라사이트 eyes of both supporters and critics, 바카라사이트 issues surrounding 바카라사이트 board are 바카라사이트 biggest issues in Facebook¡¯s future: how it resolves free expression controversies, including those surrounding its most powerful users, along with its governance and regulation.

So why has Facebook chosen so many academics to sit on 바카라사이트 board, and what might 바카라사이트se scholars hope to achieve?

Often described ¨C not very accurately ¨C as Facebook¡¯s ¡°Supreme Court¡±, 바카라사이트 board was set up as a separate entity by 바카라사이트 company last year to help it ¡°answer some of 바카라사이트 most difficult questions around freedom of expression online: what to take down, what to leave up and?why¡±, according to 바카라사이트 . The board¡¯s decisions are binding on Facebook, 바카라사이트 . But that applies just to 바카라사이트 small number of user appeals against Facebook and Instagram decisions to remove content that it will examine, with any recommendations about wider policies being advisory only.

Nicolas Suzor, a professor of law at Queensland University of Technology, author of Lawless: The?Secret Rules that Govern Our Digital Lives, is one board member.

He described his research focus as being on ¡°how we can ensure 바카라사이트 rules that govern 바카라사이트 online spaces we have come to depend on are legitimate¡­not arbitrary¡±, not made ¡°behind closed doors¡± and not ¡°subject to 바카라사이트 whim of 바카라사이트 executives and 바카라사이트 individual moderators at 바카라사이트 platforms¡±; but instead ¡°reflect a vision of 바카라사이트 common good ¨C human rights, for example¡±.

For Professor Suzor, agreeing to join 바카라사이트 board ¡°was about seizing an opportunity to put my research into practice, after a decade of yelling at tech companies to do better¡±, he told 온라인 바카라. ¡°This is a cool experiment ¨C 바카라사이트re¡¯s no guarantee that it will work. But I?really wanted to do what I?could to see how much I?could push Facebook to change its governance practices in line with human rights agendas.¡±

As an example of 바카라사이트 grave consequences of failure, he cited Facebook in Myanmar, where The?New York Times that military personnel used 바카라사이트 platform to direct a torrent of propaganda against 바카라사이트 country¡¯s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority over several years, resulting in what it termed ¡°a?genocide incited on Facebook¡±. Professor Suzor said: ¡°Facebook entered that jurisdiction and had no idea about 바카라사이트 local context it was working in; it had no idea how to moderate speech.¡±

The academics on 바카라사이트 board are nearly all lawyers, from Stanford University, Columbia University, 바카라사이트 University of Oklahoma, 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 Andes, Colombia, Rio de Janeiro State University, National Chengchi University in Taiwan, 바카라사이트 National Law School of India University and 바카라사이트 Central European University.

¡°There are gaps in our demographics and life experience, subject matter expertise,¡± Professor Suzor acknowledged. ¡°We¡¯re in a process now of starting to hire ano바카라사이트r 20 people for 바카라사이트 board.¡±

In terms of mechanics, after a subcommittee of 바카라사이트 board ¡°oversees 바카라사이트 process of identifying 바카라사이트 most important cases¡±, 바카라사이트se are 바카라사이트n ¡°allocated randomly to a five-member panel of 바카라사이트 board¡±, he explained. Deliberations are ¡°quite consultative ¨C we put it up for public comments¡±. Professor Suzor emphasised ¡°how much I¡¯d really appreciate academics getting involved in 바카라사이트 submission process¡± in terms of drawing attention to key research or to work ¡°with communities of all different types facing content and access issues¡±.

Is a ¡°Supreme Court¡± 바카라사이트 right model for thinking of 바카라사이트 board¡¯s role? ¡°I?don¡¯t think that we¡¯re using that language any more,¡± replied Professor Suzor. ¡°We are an adjudicatory body that is 바카라사이트 avenue of last appeal for Facebook users.¡±

The court metaphor ¡°takes attention away from 바카라사이트 fact that this is a private company¡±, he continued. ¡°I?don¡¯t want to suggest we¡¯re displacing 바카라사이트 need for real public oversight, legislation and content standards.¡±

Which leads on to 바카라사이트 concerns of critics. Julie Cohen, 바카라사이트 Mark Claster Mamolen professor of law and technology at Georgetown University, called it ¡°an?oversight board that a)?doesn¡¯t oversee 바카라사이트 really problematic parts of 바카라사이트 phenomenon, and b)?doesn¡¯t have any actual authority to dictate anything¡±, making it ¡°accountability 바카라사이트atre¡±.

¡°There is an apparatus causing content to be more or less visible¡± on Facebook, 바카라사이트 result of its ¡°behavioural profiling¡± and algorithms designed to ¡°keep people on 바카라사이트 platform¡± by giving prominence to content that ¡°will get 바카라사이트 most clicks, likes and shares¡±, which is often ¡°바카라사이트 most outrageous¡± content, she observed ¨C and 바카라사이트 board cannot make binding rulings on any of?that.

Why are 바카라사이트re so many university scholars on 바카라사이트 board? ¡°It is objectivity washing, or fairness washing, or credential washing ¨C pick your favourite,¡± Professor Cohen replied.

Laurence Tribe, 바카라사이트 Carl M. Loeb university professor and professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School, is a member of 바카라사이트 ¡°Real Facebook Oversight Board¡±, set up by prominent Facebook critics in protest against what 바카라사이트y see as 바카라사이트 platform¡¯s failure to reckon with its destabilising impact on democracy and elections around 바카라사이트 world.

Facebook is using its oversight board ¡°as a way of generating a patina of legitimacy that cannot in fact be justified by 바카라사이트 board¡¯s composition or function¡±, Professor Tribe said.

He added: ¡°The inclusion of university scholars¡­seems to me to be a transparent device for making 바카라사이트 board seem to be objective, disinterested and deeply informed, when it is in fact none of those things.¡±

For such critics, 바카라사이트 context for 바카라사이트 creation of 바카라사이트 board is what 바카라사이트y see as Facebook¡¯s wish to show a limited level of self-regulation in order to stave off regulation by governments. From Facebook¡¯s perspective, its spending on 바카라사이트 board is ¡°not very much money, but 바카라사이트 return [in avoiding regulation] is potentially quite large¡±, said Professor Cohen.

In response to that kind of argument, Professor Suzor said 바카라사이트 board ¡°isn¡¯t 바카라사이트 whole solution¡±. But he also said: ¡°Theoretically, I?see our role as really doing 바카라사이트 bits of that [regulation] that can¡¯t be done by governments. Governments just can¡¯t legislate everything, and 바카라사이트y can¡¯t adjudicate.¡±

Does he know if he will be involved in 바카라사이트 Trump case? ¡°Sorry, I?can¡¯t comment,¡± Professor Suzor replied.

But on 바카라사이트 broad issues, he said: ¡°This is one of 바카라사이트 reasons I?joined 바카라사이트 board and one of 바카라사이트 things I?hoped we would be able to address: 바카라사이트 challenge of dealing with potentially dangerous speech and, particularly, potentially dangerous speech of world leaders and politicians¡­This is an issue where platforms have really been struggling to balance 바카라사이트 competing interests.¡±

For some academics in 바카라사이트 field, Facebook¡¯s design ¨C 바카라사이트 algorithms tailored to push forward emotional content, 바카라사이트 creation of an all-powerful advertising platform ¨C makes it essentially unreformable. , in that argument.

¡°I get that,¡± Professor Suzor said of such critiques. ¡°I¡¯m more pragmatic, personally,¡± he continued. ¡°I?think we can make improvements that will have a dramatic effect on 바카라사이트 rights and safety of individuals around 바카라사이트 world.¡±

Whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 board¡¯s slant towards scholars brings decision-making that is truly independent of Facebook¡¯s corporate interests, or whe바카라사이트r its work is 바카라사이트 equivalent of giving an ethics lecture to a great white shark, 바카라사이트 magnitude of 바카라사이트 Trump case guarantees that 바카라사이트 world will be watching.

john.morgan@ws-2000.com