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Holding Facebook accountable: why independent oversight matters

Dex Hunter-Torricke, The Oversight Board’s Head of Global Communications & Public Engagement, joined us on Tuesday 29th March 2022 to talk about the Board’s work and aspirations, as well as the wider issues of platform regulation.

Should you be able to condemn sexual violence on Facebook? Can you give advice on how to talk to a doctor about prescription medication? Should you be able to discuss the human rights of people designated as ‘dangerous individuals’? Who decides what constitutes ‘hate speech’?

As its community grew to more than two billion people, it became increasingly clear to the Facebook company (now Meta) that it shouldn’t be making big decisions about freedom of speech and online safety on its own. The Oversight Board was created to help Facebook and Instagram answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression online: what to take down, what to leave up, and why.