Meta's Oversight Board expands its scope to include Threads. The group announced that Threads users will now be able to appeal Meta's content moderation decisions, giving the independent group the ability to influence the policies of Meta's latest app.
This is a notable expansion for the Oversight Board, which until now has weighed in on content moderation issues related to Facebook and Instagram posts. “It is vitally important to have independent accountability for a new app like Threads from the start,” board co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt said in a statement.
According to the Oversight Board, user calls on Threads will work the same as on Instagram and Facebook. Once users have “exhausted” Meta’s internal process, they will be able to request a review from the Oversight Board. Under the rules established when the board was established, Meta is required to implement the board's decisions regarding specific positions, but is not obligated to adhere to its policy recommendations.
Adding Threads content moderation to the forum's scope underscores the growing influence of the Twitter-like app launched last summer. Threads already has 130 million users and Mark Zuckerberg that it could one day reach a billion users.
Officially, Threads has the same rules as Instagram. But Meta has already encountered pushback from users regarding its content recommendation policies. Discussions currently search terms related to COVID-19 and other “potentially sensitive” topics. The company also raised eyebrows when it said last week that it wouldn't recommend accounts that post too many messages. unless users choose to participate in these suggestions.
Whether or not the board ultimately weighs in on these choices, it will likely be some time before Threads users see any changes resulting from the board's recommendations. The Oversight Board accepts only a tiny fraction of calls from users, and it can take several weeks or months for the group to make a decision, and several more months for Meta to change one of its rules as a result. of these guidelines. (The council may, in certain cases, the process.)