Academics from across the globe joined representatives of the Oversight Board to discuss its dedicated role in the online content moderation of social media giant, Meta.
On Friday 22 of May, academics and practitioners in content moderation and tech regulation, joined representatives from the Oversight Board at The City Law School, City, St George’s, University of London, for a first-of-its kind international symposium.
Established in 2020, the Oversight Board was founded by social media giant, Meta, with the aim of independently reviewing the company’s decisions in moderating specific content on its most popular platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
The Board has emerged as a distinctive experiment in global platform governance. With the power to influence content moderation affecting billions of users worldwide, it has become an important site for debates on freedom of expression, human rights, and the regulation of online speech.
The one-day symposium at The City Law School aimed to examine the decisions made by the Board as a global standard setter, exploring its jurisprudence, its engagement with international human rights law, and its broader implications for the governance of digital platforms.
Co-organised by Dr Jed Odermatt, Reader at the School, and Dr Bilyana Petkova, University of National and World Economy, Bulgaria, the symposium featured five panel sessions which respectively broached the areas of: conceptual issues and institutional design; content moderation and hate speech – decision making; content moderation and hate speech – global standards; regionally sensitive content moderation; and future directions in platform governance.
Keynote Speech
The symposium’s Keynote Speech was delivered by Paolo Carozza, Oversight Board Co-Chair. He reflected on the impact of the Board since its inception, its current constraints and the import of the symposium.
Watch the recording of the Keynote speech:
Abigail Bridgeman, Deputy of Policy and Content Review at the Oversight Board, chaired the panel session on global standards for content moderation and hate speech, Professor Susan Blake, The City Law School chaired the panel session on regionally sensitive content moderation.
The panel session on future directions in platform governance, comprised entirely of The City Law School panellists. Dr Ilias Kapsis, Reader at the School presented his paper, Platforms, States, and Users: Managing the Triangular Challenge of Regulating Online Speech; PhD candidate Charlotte Manson shared, ‘A Feminist analysis of the Meta Oversight Board decision in ‘Iranian Make-up Video for a Child Marriage’; Dr Paul Apeh asked, ‘Can the Board Remain a Global Standard-Setter? Regulatory Competition from the EU’s Digital Services Act’; and Dr Miguel Ngekbe delivered his presentation on, “Deepfakes’ and ‘Cheapfakes’: The Role of the Oversight Board in Protecting Free Speech During Political Elections: Altered Video of President Biden decision”.
Further speakers and panel chairs represented institutions from: The City Law School, UK; Bocconi University, Italy; the University of Connecticut, USA; University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Duke University, USA; Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Jigjiga University, Ethiopia; King’s College London, UK; University of Milan, Italy; University of Padua, Italy; and UCL, UK.
Of the international speakers, Professor Iryna Marchuk, University of Copenhagen, delivered her presentation on ‘the Limits of Platform Governance in Armed Conflict’. She focused on the Oversight Board’s recommendations and decisions regarding dehumanising hate speech, AI generated disinformation and graphic and violent content, underlining the importance of preserving content that has been removed from online platforms due to its use within domestic and international investigations relating to armed conflict.
PhD candidate, Francesca Cassano, from University of Milan, presented her research on increasing similarities between the Meta Oversight Board and the European Court of Human Rights’ approaches in tackling hate speech online, demonstrating the growing influence of shared ideas across international legal institutions.
Reflecting on the learning and impact from the symposium, Dr Jed Odermatt said: