Oversight Board Call for Public Comments: Cross-check Policy Advisory Opinion

Read the new case from the Oversight Board regarding Facebook’s cross-check system. They will be accepting comments to further expand the Board’s knowledge and provide input from more global voices from now until January 14th. Please share within your communities.

The Board is specifically looking to engage the global community on the following questions that can be addressed in the public comment portal:

The board requests public comments on the following issues:

• Whether a cross-check system is needed and if it strengthens or undermines the protection of freedom of expression and other human rights.
• Cross-check is designed to be a “false positive” prevention mechanism. What are the checks and balances, if any, this system should contemplate to mitigate the risks of “false negatives” [erroneous lack of action on violating content]?
• Recommendations on what Meta should do to ensure that the cross-check system, including its escalation process, is neutral and free of political and other biases.
• What factors should Meta incorporate into the “cross-check ranker” system in addition to topic sensitivity, enforcement severity, false-positive probability, predicted reach, and the nature and importance of the entity?
• How should these factors be defined?
• The benefits and limitations of automated technologies used to prioritize review of high-severity content.
• Information on how the cross-check system should and can be improved for users and entities who do not post in English.
• Information on systems akin to cross-check used by other social media platforms and lessons learned that can be applicable to Meta.
• How Meta can improve the transparency of the cross-check system.
• What additional research and resources should Meta dedicate to improving the cross-check system?

The Oversight Board will also be holding office hours in early January for those who want to discuss more on this particular case. If you have any questions or if you’d like to be put into contact with someone from the Oversight Board for further discussion, please contact Kristi Arbogast (Design 4 Democracy Coalition Community Manager )