- The Washington Times - Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Facebook announced Wednesday the initial members of an independent oversight board that will serve as the ultimate arbiter of disputes involving the company’s content policies.

A former Danish prime minister, a Nobel laureate and several human rights advocates, legal experts and journalists are among the first 20 members of the new Facebook oversight board, which will determine whether certain controversial content should be allowed or removed from the company’s namesake social network and sister service Instagram.

“The board will review cases where people disagree with the outcome of Facebook’s decisions and have exhausted the appeals process with Facebook,” according to its bylaws. “The board will also be able to hear cases that have been referred by Facebook. The board will review and decide on content in accordance with Facebook’s content policies and values.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken about establishing an oversight panel since late 2018, and in December his company committed $130 million to funding its first six years of operation. It subsequently selected the board’s first four co-chairs and then consulted with them to decide its next 16 members.

“The Oversight Board will have the power to overturn decisions we’ve made on content as long as they comply with local laws,” Mr. Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page Wednesday. “Its decisions will be final — regardless of whether I or anyone else at the company agrees with them.”

“We expect them to make some decisions that we, at Facebook, will not always agree with — but that’s the point: they are truly autonomous in their exercise of independent judgment,” added Nick Clegg, a former British politician currently serving as Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications

None of the board members are Facebook employees, and Facebook is not allowed to remove any of them from the board — a “first of its kind,” according to Mr. Zuckerberg.

The board’s first four co-chairs are Catalina Botero-Marino, a legal expert from Colombia; Jamal Greene, an American constitutional law professor; Michael McConnell, a former U.S. federal appeals court judge; and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the first female prime minister of Denmark.

Combined the board’s initial members have lived in more than 27 countries and speak at least 29 languages, Mr. Clegg said.

• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.

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