Facebook is considering creating an election commission that would weigh in on global election-related issues on the platform, according to The New York Times.
The way these announcements are interpreted currently is that the “election commission” will play a role similar to that the Oversight Board already has in dealing with content censorship on Facebook, only clearly focused on election-related content.
The Board is referred to as independent, brings together several academics and experts, and is ultimately seen by critics as another way for Facebook to wash its hand off the responsibility in how diverse politically, and ideologically sensitive content is treated and “moderated.” Another notorious way is Facebook’s third-party “fact checkers.”
Facebook is not commenting for the moment, but observers say that the Board might be proving useful in letting Facebook breathe more easily on those issues of censorship it is under pressure for and that the company might hope the “election commission” will pull the same trick on behalf of the juggernaut, and paint its “moderation” rules as a matter of policy rather than politics, reports say.
The New York Times writes that putting together this elections-savvy group is now in the works with no official confirmation, while its official role would be to offer advice on election issues expected to be “thorny.” The scope would not pertain only to the US but be global, anonymous people have shared with the newspaper.
Forsided, 27.08.2021
Source: News Wars