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      Facebook eyes “Election Commission” in possible bid to shed political scrutiny

      Tim De Chant · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 26 August, 2021 - 18:24

    Facebook

    Enlarge / Facebook's voter information center for the 2020 election in the US. (credit: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg )

    Facebook may finally be acknowledging that it’s handling of elections around the world has been less than stellar. And this time, its response may amount to more than just another apology from Mark Zuckerberg.

    The social media company is considering creating an “election commission” that would guide it on election-related issues around the world, according to a report in The New York Times . The commission would advise Facebook on everything from disinformation to political advertising, and if implemented, it could be a boon for the company’s public relations. The commission would ideally also take some heat off CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who reportedly doesn't want to be the "sole decision maker on political content," the Times reports.

    A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on this story when contacted by Ars.

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      Facebook “Supreme Court” overrules company in 4 of its first 5 decisions

      Timothy B. Lee · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 28 January, 2021 - 18:21

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2017.

    Enlarge / Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2017. (credit: Mark Zuckerberg)

    The Oversight Board, an independent organization set up to review Facebook's content moderation decisions, handed down its first batch of rulings on Thursday. The rulings didn't go well for Facebook's moderators. Out of five substantive rulings, the board overturned four and upheld one.

    Most technology platforms have unfettered discretion to remove content. In contrast, Facebook decided in 2019 to create an independent organization , the Oversight Board, to review Facebook decisions, much as the US Supreme Court reviews decisions by lower courts. The board has an independent funding stream and its members can't be fired by Facebook. Facebook has promised to follow the board's decisions unless doing so would be against the law.

    The board's first batch of five substantive decisions (a sixth case became moot after the user delete their post) illustrates the difficult challenge facing Facebook's moderators:

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