Facebook says oversight board is coming soon

Facebook’s long-talked about oversight board is starting to become a reality.

On Tuesday, Facebook announced that its oversight board will be ready to start hearing cases this summer. The social media company also shared a set of recommended bylaws for the board and said in its statement that it would announce board members and trustees “in the coming months.”

According to Facebook, cases brought to the board “will initially only involve individual pieces of content that we have taken down.” Once the company removes content from Facebook or Instagram and runs through all appeals with the company, a user will have 15 days to appeal to the board. The company can refer “urgent cases” directly to the board itself as well.

The oversight board is expected to make a decision for each case within 90 days. Following the board’s decision, Facebook says it will “provide a public response regarding any policy recommendations and follow-on action” within a timeframe of 30 days.

In a phone call with reporters earlier today, Facebook reiterated that it would review guidance from the board and run substantial changes through its policy development process.

“We commit to fully explaining any resulting policy changes or, if necessary, providing our rationale for declining to adopt the board’s policy guidance,” said Fay Johnson, Senior Product Manager of Facebook Transparency & Oversight.

One name that was announced in today’s update: Thomas Hughes, the former Executive Director for Article 19, a British organization that focuses on freedom of expression and digital rights. Hughes will assume the role of Director of Oversight Board Administration and begin to hire staff to support the board.

Facebook first announced its plans for an independent oversight board in 2018. Since then, additional details surrounding the board have been slow to come out. The company has promised the board would be diverse, saying that members would come from “different backgrounds, different disciplines, and different viewpoints.”

While it will be funded by the company, the oversight board will act as its own corporate entity, separate from Facebook.