Meta’s Oversight Board is looking into transparency around disabling accounts

Meta has a lot of work to do when it comes to reducing hate speech on its platforms. Now, its oversight board is considering the company’s decision to ban an account for, among other things, posting violent threats and visible harassment against a journalist – and wants public advice.

In the year prior to the ban, Meta referred five posts for violations of its community standards for hateful behavior, bullying and harassment, violence and incitement, and adult nudity and sexual activity. In addition to posts harassing the journalist, the user also shared “homophobic slurs against prominent politicians and content depicting a sexual act, alleging misconduct against minorities.”

Meta’s internal review experts decided to permanently disable the account due to the ongoing violations and calls for violence. This action was taken even though the number of hits did not reach the ban threshold – Meta’s guidelines state that even seven hits only results in users being banned for one day. However, its account safety page shows examples of when accounts will be disabled, including violating its community standards through “imminent risk of harm” to the individual.

The Board is now seeking input from the public until 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday, February 3. The Board specifically seeks feedback from individuals who can “contribute valuable perspectives” on the following topics:

• How best to ensure due process and justice for people whose accounts have been penalized or permanently disabled.

• The effectiveness of measures used by social media platforms to protect public figures and journalists from accounts involved in repeated abuse and threats of violence, particularly against women in the public eye.

• Challenges in identifying and considering off-platform context when assessing threats against public figures and journalists.

• Research into the effectiveness of punitive measures to shape online behaviors, and the effectiveness of alternative or complementary interventions.

• Good industry practices in transparency reporting on account enforcement decisions and related appeals.

This case represents the first time the Board has considered permanently disabling Meta of an account. He stated that this “represents a significant opportunity to provide users with greater transparency about meta account enforcement policies and practices, provide recommendations for improvement, and expand the types of cases the Board can review.”