(Beirut, March 27, 2024) – Yesterday, the much anticipated Oversight Board decision on Meta’s approach to moderating the word “shaheed” was finally issued. The promising kick-off of the decision, stating Meta’s over-moderation as “substantially and disproportionately restricting free expression,” is indicative of the Board’s integration of the numerous public comments submitted by stakeholders in May 2023. We welcome this decision and the incorporation of our insights into it.
In February 2023, Meta asked the Board for a Policy Advisory Opinion (PAO) and gave the Board three options. The OSB recommended the more lenient one, “allowing the use of ‘shaheed’ in reference to designated individuals so long as there is no praise or signals of violence.” This choice was based on the fact that the multiple interpretations of the word “shaheed” should not be overlooked, as well as Meta’s failure to discern the word’s linguistic complexity by equating it to the English translation as simply “martyr.” The OSB further made a series of recommendations to Meta, principally related to transparency concerns around the Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy and its infamous, still undisclosed, list. Although the Board did not explicitly ask the company to publish the list, as it had previously done in the “Nazi Quote case,” it suggested that Meta divulge data pertaining to it, such as the process used to include individuals and organizations in the list, as well as the introduction of a process for the regular auditing of such designations. In the Board’s view, since the company refuses to publish the list for “safety concerns,” it is vital that there is transparency on all other aspects of the list.
While the OSB decisions are not binding nor have an immediate effect, we can still be optimistic that Meta will abide by these recommendations. The company has 60 days to respond to the PAO and has a wide margin of maneuver regarding the complete or partial acceptance or rejection of the recommendations. Meta now has an opportunity to implement these recommendations and remedy its faulty moderation of Arabic content.
We call on civil society organizations to join our efforts and demand Meta to end the blanket ban on the term “shaheed,” publish a complete list of all banned words, and commit to more transparency in its content moderation practices, especially on the DOI list.
Photo by AHMET SERDAR ESERANADOLUAnadolu via AFP
