Oversight Board asks Facebook to explain controversial whitelisting rules for VIPs
A report claimed last week that Facebook was allowing high-profile users to break some or all of its rules
Facebook's semi-independent Oversight Board says it has 'reached out to Facebook' to request that they provide more information on the controversial 'XCheck' or cross check system, following a report that the company is allowing high-profile users to break some or all of its rules.
"In light of recent developments, we are looking into the degree to which Facebook has been fully forthcoming in its responses in relation to cross-check, including the practice of whitelisting," the Board stated.
"We expect to receive a briefing from Facebook in the coming days and will be reporting what we hear from this as part of our first release of quarterly transparency reports which we will publish in October."
In its online post, the Board stressed on the significance of transparency for social media platforms, and said that it would continue to ask Facebook questions on XCheck and publish the answers for people to see.
It noted online platforms needs to have "clear rules" and should enforce them "consistently" to give the users confidence that they will be treated fairly on the platform.
The practice would benefit everyone in the long run, it added.
Facebook's Oversight Board was established in 2020 to take final decisions on some of the most contentious issues. The decisions of the Oversight Board, whose members include former judges, activists and media figures, are binding to all at Facebook, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
In June, the Board ruled that the Facebook's decision to ban former US president Donald Trump from Facebook and Instagram was justified at the time, although the company was wrong to make the suspension indefinite.
At that time, Board asked Facebook to be "more transparent" about how it assesses such things, treat all users in the same way, and to refrain from giving arbitrary penalties.
The Board's latest statement about Facebook's cross-check system comes a week after WSJ reported that Facebook was allowing celebrities, politicians, sports stars and other VIPs on the platform to break the platform's rules as a special exception.
It claimed that about 5.8 million people on the XCheck whitelist, including Donald Trump (prior to his banning from the site), US senator Elizabeth Warren and Brazilian footballer Neymar, were less likely to be reprimanded for breaking the content rules.
The report quoted the example of Neymar, who published correspondence with a woman who accused him of rape, including her name and nude photos. The moderators were prevented from taking action under the rule for 'non-consensual intimate imagery' publication because the football star is whitelisted.
Facebook seems to be facing another wave of negative press recently over its controversial practices.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally approved a project last month to push positive stories about Facebook into the news feeds of the platform's users.
The initiative, code-named 'Project Amplify,' was proposed earlier this year, with Facebook executives reportedly telling Zuckerberg that it would use Facebook's News Feed to show users Pro-Facebook stories in a move to help repair the platform's tarnished reputation.
After Zuckerberg approved the project last month, Facebook began testing the changes in three cities through a tool called 'Quick Promote,' according to the NYT.
It is unclear to what extent the social media firm pushed Project Amplify or how many users saw pro-Facebook stories as part of the effort on their News Feeds.