Facebook faces criticism from the supervisory board
Facebook failed to provide critical details about its Cross-Check program that is said to have protected millions of VIP users from the social media platform’s usual content-modifying rules, according to the Content Stewardship Board.
The supervisory board said in a report The tech giant hasn’t been completely clear about Cross-Check. He added: On some occasions, the company failed to provide relevant information to the supervisory board. Whereas in other cases the information you provided was incomplete.
The company uses Cross-Check software to review content decisions about high-profile users, such as politicians, celebrities and journalists. The program spread to 5.8 million users in 2020, according to for newspaper The Wall Street Journal.
The Facebook Content Oversight Board is an entity made up of experts in areas such as freedom of expression and human rights. They are appointed by the company. But they work independently.
The supervisory board is often described as a kind of corporate supreme court because it allows users to challenge content decisions across company-owned platforms.
In a report published last month, the Wall Street Journal used internal company documents to show that Cross-Check protects VIPs from normal oversight.
This means that posts that violate company rules are not removed immediately or that some individuals are immune from moderation actions.
Documents show that, on occasion, Cross-Check has protected public figures whose posts contain harassment or incitement to violence, violations that would normally result in penalties for ordinary users.
In a written statement, company spokesman Andy Stone told the newspaper that Cross-Check’s criticism was fair. But he added that the program was designed with an important reason: to create an extra step so the company can accurately apply policies to content that may require more understanding.
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The Facebook Content Supervisory Board is reviewing Cross-Check
Despite the wide reach of Cross-Check, the company did not mention the program when it asked the supervisory board to review its decision to bar former President Donald Trump from using its platform.
Instead, Facebook mentioned the program only when the supervisory board asked whether Trump’s page or account had undergone normal content editing processes.
The supervisory board said the company had told the board that the program was being applied to a small number of decisions. which the company later admitted was misleading.
Nor has the company provided transparency about the criteria for accounts or which pages are chosen to be included in Cross-Check. This is despite the request made by the Council to do so.
The board said it accepted a request from the company to review Cross-Check and make recommendations on how to change it. A Facebook spokesperson thanked the board for its continued work and release of the transparency report.
“We believe the council’s work has been impressive,” the spokesman said in a statement. Which is why we asked him for his opinion on Cross-Check. We strive to be clearer in our interpretations of it from now on.
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