Facebook’s Supreme Court Is Now Active; Know How It Works And How It Will Handle User Complaints

Those who have complaints and have exhausted their existing appeals process can take their cases to the Oversight Board.

(Representative Image/ AFP)

New Delhi: Facebook users can now take their complaints such as removal of content to the social media giant’s Supreme Court! Facebook’s Oversight Board which comprises 20 external members of the society (including one from India) is now active. The oversight board was formed in May this year and will take up issues of both Facebook and Instagram. What is an Oversight board? This is an entity which was created by Facebook to make decisions on content moderation complaints. The proposal for such a body was given by Mark Zuckerberg in 2018.  It was formed in May this year but has only become active this month. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice Chancellor of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru will also be part of the Board. What types of issues will be handled by the Board? Those who have complaints and have exhausted their existing appeals process can take their cases to the Oversight Board. Two types of issues will be reviewed by the Board.

•  User Generated Appeals- People who disagree with Facebook's decision and have gone through Facebook's appeals process.
• Facebook Referred Cases- The social media platform can refer "significant and difficult" cases directly to the Board.

How will it work? A report by IANS says that the social network has built a case management tool that will allow board members to collaborate and review information remotely. The tool will only show information to the Oversight Board that is relevant to the board's operations. "We will notify a user that the content they posted is being sent to the board," said Facebook. Once a decision is taken by the board then the information that will identify an individual will only be published with consent. "Those at Facebook who will review information within the case management tool will be a small group of employees responsible for supporting the Board's proceedings," informed Fay Johnson, Product Lead, Integrity Transparency & Oversight at Facebook in the report. "Both Facebook and Instagram as well as their CEO have given a clear unequivocal undertaking that the decisions of the board will be implemented. We are confident that our decisions will be implemented, “said Krishnaswamy in the report.