After unveiling its first twenty members last year,
Facebook's “
Supreme Court
” has just handed down its first decisions.
This body's role is to analyze the cases of users who can no longer appeal to the content removed from Facebook platforms by its moderators.
The firm can also ask the board of directors to examine a wider range of content issues.
A board of directors at odds with Facebook
Facebook's supervisory board decided that the social network was wrong to remove four of the five content examined by this "
Supreme Court
".
Among them is the case of a French user.
In October 2020, this individual published a video and a text in a public group, devoted to Covid-19.
In question ?
The publication refers to the National Medicines Safety Agency which refused to authorize the use of hydroxychloroquine to fight the virus, but which authorized the use of remdivisir.
In his post, the user criticizes the absence of a health strategy in France and declares that “
the treatment of [Didier] Raoult
Was used elsewhere to save lives.
Facebook deleted the content on the grounds that it was spreading disinformation and that it participated in the risk of imminent physical danger.
However, according to the supervisory board, these Facebook rules are vague and the deletion of the post is "
not in accordance with international human rights standards in terms of limiting freedom of expression."
The "
Supreme Court
" of Facebook has therefore rendered its verdict: restore the publication.
For its part, the social network directly shared its "
intention to soon publish the updated disinformation policies of COVID-19
", in order to provide clarity for its users.
Seven days to restore deleted content
Facebook now has seven days to restore pieces of content that the supervisory board said shouldn't have been deleted.
The body also issued nine non-binding recommendations, to which the social network will have to respond publicly within a month.
Among them, telling users which specific rule they violated and better defining the policy on issues such as dangerous groups and health misinformation.
“
We can see that there are policy issues at Facebook,
” said Katherine Chen, member of the supervisory board.
“
We want their policies to be clear - especially those relating to human rights and freedom of expression.
They must be precise, accessible and clearly defined,
”she added.
The suspension of Donald Trump's account, soon to be discussed
All of these early decisions will be reviewed to see how independent the board appears to be from the world's largest social media platform.
Notably before his much-publicized decision on whether Facebook was right to suspend the former US president.
The platform had blocked Donald Trump's access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts for fear of further violence following the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6.
The supervisory board has said it will soon open the Trump file for public comment.
