Facebook's Oversight Board Won't Launch In Time To Oversee the Election (theverge.com) 22
"On Friday, a coalition of academics and legal experts announced the formation of the 'Real Facebook Oversight Board,' an informal group that will publicly call out Facebook's slow action in advance of the election, including early Facebook investor Roger McNamee and Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff," reports The Verge. The only problem is that it won't launch in time to hear cases related to the U.S. election. From the report: The group plans to hold regular "board meetings" to discuss failures of platform policy, with the first scheduled to be hosted by Kara Swisher on October 1. In a statement, Zuboff described Facebook as "a roiling cauldron of lies, violence and danger destabilizing elections and democratic governance around the world." The group also include Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, known for her work on the Cambridge Analytica story. "This is an emergency response," Cadwalladr told NBC News this morning. "We know there are going to be a series of incidents leading up to the election and beyond in which Facebook is crucial."
The board will hold no power and is largely meant as a symbolic gesture. Still, it has placed new pressure on Facebook's Oversight Board, which was initially scheduled for launch this summer. Oversight Board members now estimate that the project will launch in October. That will be too late to hear cases related to the US election, given the months-long process for fully adjudicating a case. "We are currently testing the newly deployed technical systems that will allow users to appeal and the Board to review cases," the Oversight Board said. "Assuming those tests go to plan, we expect to open user appeals in mid to late October. Building a process that is thorough, principled and globally effective takes time and our members have been working aggressively to launch as soon as possible."
The board will hold no power and is largely meant as a symbolic gesture. Still, it has placed new pressure on Facebook's Oversight Board, which was initially scheduled for launch this summer. Oversight Board members now estimate that the project will launch in October. That will be too late to hear cases related to the US election, given the months-long process for fully adjudicating a case. "We are currently testing the newly deployed technical systems that will allow users to appeal and the Board to review cases," the Oversight Board said. "Assuming those tests go to plan, we expect to open user appeals in mid to late October. Building a process that is thorough, principled and globally effective takes time and our members have been working aggressively to launch as soon as possible."
omg (Score:4, Insightful)
Zuboff described Facebook as "a roiling cauldron of lies, violence and danger destabilizing elections and democratic governance around the world."
And here I thought it was a place where my relatives post cat pictures. It was a cauldron all along! I wonder what kind of reception the cauldron gets.
You don't say? (Score:4, Funny)
"Oversee the Election" (Score:2)
Damn! I guess we'll have to do it ourselves...
Do we want Facebook to oversee anything? All they know is "overlook"
Re: (Score:2)
I get from your use of slurs that you're really angry about something, but I have on idea what. Attaching slurs to random nouns does indicate your anger, but is somewhat opaque to anyone not in whichever scummy hole on the internet you call home. It does however signal clearly to anyone else that you're a prat.
Well I'm sure they tried their best. (Score:2)
"Slow Action" (Score:4, Insightful)
publicly call out Facebook's slow action
They should call out their own slow action, no? In Silicon Valley you can found a startup and get a prototype product out in a month. These guys can have, wow, one meeting to discuss what they might do.
Anti-Brexit and Anti-Trump... (Score:1)
...join forces to nag platforms that wonâ(TM)t ban opposing views. These are of course the same "truth-huggersâ who touted the Steele dossier and are now trying to convince the left that Kamala Harris is a progressive.
I'm calling it now.... (Score:3)
Within the next 3 1/2 years this entire initiative will be scrapped or otherwise swept under the rug so it wont have to be implemented for the next election either.
Oh, well... (Score:2)
This might well be the last free election the US has in any case. Zuckerberg is probably counting on that.
Good. (Score:2)
What idiot would actually TRUST FB anyhow...
Um (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a glorified multiuser blog. That's all.
You know who wants to "oversee" us talking about elections? Totalitarians. By definition.
If you are the one engaging in the political street violence, if you are the one trying to "oversee" everyone's speech, guess what, YOU are the "nazi".