Meta -ov ‘free speech’ rearranges the supervisory board
Unlock free Digest editor
Roula Khalaf, editor of FT, chooses her favorite story in this weekly newsletter.
Meta’s Supervisory Board clashed internally for the overhaul of “free speech”, Marko Zuckerberg, because he rushes to find ways to hold the American social media giant to explain in change.
Zuckerber’s decision last month to end the target Fact verification program In the United States and weakened their hate speech policies at a global level, the tensions between the members of the Committee were encouraged, while some are furious at the 1.8 -8-memorial of the social media platform for unexpected earthquake, according to several people who are familiar with the issue.
Members of the Meta of the Supervisory Board-Novi Body in charge of the verdict on sensitive matters of moderation-in no way advised about the turn, four people said.
In the announcement performance, the Committee, which includes people like former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and former Gurdish editor Alan Rusbridger, also only gave a short announcement of the announcement of the fact of fact and no insight into that insight hate changes, leaving many members to be They feel blinded, people said.
While the Committee of the Committee made a statement saying that he “welcomed” the news that the target was examining his fact of verification of facts, it did not reflect the views of many committees of the committee, and especially did not apply to their thinking about changing hate speech.
The committee is now being pushed to find ways to review changes, provide responsibility and ensure that they are in accordance with human rights obligations.
One of the options could be to write his own white paper or a report, one person said familiar with the question. Other members want the Committee to perform a so -called “Advisory Opinion on Politics”, which allows him to request information, and then give instructions and an optional recommendation of the target of its adoption of policies. However, the target should encourage this procedure and every decision in the way forward is yet to be made.
One person said that both directions were “presented in both directions and passionate statements, and the other noticed a strong division between US conservatives represented on the Committee and other global members.
Remont – Part of the escalating pressure Zuckerberg Da Curry favors with President Donald Trump – caused concern for civil rights groups, as well as some advertising companies.
Last week, a global coalition for Tech Justice, a movement of over 250 organizations for civil rights and experts in 55 countries, called Meta -O’s Supervisory Board to leave in an open letter.
“The choice before you is a Stark: Either give credibility to companies that deliberately dismantle protective measures for democracy and human rights, or take a stand in defense of the principles that you have been appointed for the contract,” the letter said.
The Committee, which was launched in 2020 and includes journalists and global experts on human rights and free expression, some have announced as a unique mechanism for responsibility in the social media industry, and critics as an attempt Zuckerberg to convey responsibility in the midst of responsibility to grow his platforms .
The Committee relies on the target for funding of trust, but provided the annual budget of at least $ 35 million by the end of 2027, the announcement said in September.
Among the main concerns, some members of the Committee are taken care of that professional facts are checked in favor of the “Community Notes” by Elona Men X-Proper, which themselves flaged disinformation-can lead to real damage in places where there are places where there are there active conflicts or ethnic tensions.
The changes to the fact of the fact is expected to be introduced in the coming months in the US. It is unclear whether and when it can be spread globally.
Others are shocked by the changes in speech hate policy – which allows immigrants, women, LGBTQ -Ui communities to be called certain servants – and warn that they could have authoritarian regimes for the target of minority groups.
Paolo Carozza, co -operator of the Committee and a professor of the right at Notre Dame University, told the Financial Times that the Committee has a “strong desire” to advise the target of how it designs and introduces changes to the fact of facts.
He added that there was “the expectation that we would allow us to work with them”, since to this day it is a “constructive” relationship.
Carozza said she did not know any members of the committee who planned to resign. He said the Committee inspected four cases of hate speech in progress, which would give the opportunity to weigh a position on these policy changes.
“Of course, there will be differences – even sharp differences – among our members,” he added. “What the Committee is on is explained, intentionally, carefully judgment.”
The target refused to comment.
Some board members have already publicly declared themselves in a personal capacity. Rusbridger wrote in January that “speech, misinformation and hate speech – including dehumanization – can be largely killed…[and] lead to wide civic disorders as we have seen in the United States -the UK. ”
Professor of Stanford Michael McConnell, co -operator of the Committee, said in an interview that, although the verification of the fact, the facts historically corrected more conservative content than left content, he wished that the target reformed its systems “in less controversial and partisan times.”