Facebook names 20 people, including journalists, to a 'Supreme Court' as ultimate arbiters for allowed content - Entrepreneur Generations

"Facebook on Wednesday appointed 20 people from around the world to serve on what will effectively be the social media network’s 'Supreme Court' for speech, issuing rulings on what kind of posts will be allowed and what should be taken down," David Ingram reports for NBC News. "The list includes nine law professors, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Yemen, journalists, free speech advocates and a writer from the libertarian Cato Institute."

However, the board doesn't include an expert in studying disinformation. "Facebook has struggled to contain state-based manipulation efforts as well as hoaxes on subjects like false cures and gun violence," Ingram reports.

Facebook will still handle everyday cases, but the board will take on difficult decisions on Facebook as well as the Facebook-owned Instagram. The group will essentially act as an appeals court, according to one of the co-chairs, former federal judge Michael McConnell. He told Ingram that the board was not meant to be the "internet police" and tamp down on "rapidly removing problems."

The board could take some of the heat from Facebook, often a target of political ire when lawmakers believe they or their supporters are being unfairly censored, Ingram reports. Facebook has tried to show that the board is independent, paying it from a $130 million trust and promising not to remove members from the board.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2WfJkZV Facebook names 20 people, including journalists, to a 'Supreme Court' as ultimate arbiters for allowed content - Entrepreneur Generations

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