Meta will rely on its Oversight Board for decision-making

To help improve user experience on Meta’s social media apps, the Oversight Board is undergoing certain changes. This announcement came directly from the decision-making body’s website. These changes will affect how decisions are made and the speed of the process.

Considering the number of people using Meta’s social media platform, there needs to be checks and balances. Without these checks and balances, content posted on Meta’s social media platforms will be misleading and harmful. The Oversight Board aims to help all on the platform voice their concerns within certain guidelines.

Any post that outsteps these guidelines will then decide whether such posts will be permitted on the platform. The board is reportedly exploring new ways to “improve how Meta treats people and communities around the world.” Its exploration has led it to introduce two methods of decision-making, publishing its transparency report, and introducing a new Board member.

Changes to the Oversight Board that will help improve Meta’s decision-making process

The Meta Oversight Board has gone through some restructuring to help it review cases and make decisions faster. These changes will help complement the standard decisions and policy advisory opinions. The existing process came into effect about two years ago when the Oversight Board came into existence.

Joining the previous decision-making process are the expedited and summary decision-making processes. These new processes will help the Board make decisions faster than they did before. The use cases of the new processes differ, but they work together to improve Meta’s decision-making process.

The expedited decisions act quickly to resolve cases with the help of a panel. Decisions for cases handled with an expedited review will take 48 hours to 30 days. This is an improvement from the maximum 90 days attainable with the previous decision-making process.

The summary decision also requires a panel to decide upon a case. But, instead of making a verdict, the panel will draw on Meta’s decision on a case where it later changed its mind. This process will help Meta avoid decision-making errors it made on Facebook and Instagram posts.

The new decision-making processes have some similarities. Both processes decide on a post made on Facebook or Instagram that goes against Meta’s set guidelines. Also, they won’t take public comments under the post into consideration.

Another change to the Meta Oversight Board is the release of its quarterly transparency report to the public. Also, the board is getting a new member, Kenji Yoshino, a constitutional law scholar. The addition of new decision-making processes and a new board member will help improve user experience on Meta’s social media platforms.