On Wednesday, Meta Platforms’ Oversight Board delivered a stern critique of the social media giant, which owns Facebook and Instagram, regarding significant policy changes implemented in January. These reforms reduced fact-checking efforts and relaxed restrictions on discussions surrounding sensitive issues like immigration and gender identity.
Operating independently but funded by Meta, the board urged the company—recognized as the largest social media platform globally—to evaluate the “potential adverse effects” of these new policies, which were introduced just prior to former U.S. President Donald Trump commencing his second term.
The board flagged that Meta appeared to have implemented these changes “hastily” and without the normal procedural transparency, raising concerns about the absence of public disclosure regarding any prior human rights assessments conducted by the company.
This critique places the board in a challenging position against Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has been aiming to repair relations with Trump this year and roll back a decade of measures intended to combat issues like hate speech and misinformation across the platform.
The board’s comments came as it released rulings on individual content cases following the January reforms. In certain instances, the board upheld Meta’s choices to allow controversial posts, such as those related to transgender access to bathrooms, while in other cases, it mandated the removal of posts containing racist language.
In response, Meta issued a statement expressing support for the board’s decisions that promoted the preservation of content in the name of free expression, though it did not address the rulings that required content removal.
The January policy changes saw Meta dissolve its U.S. fact-checking initiative and loosen restrictions on contentious discussions, countering longstanding conservative criticisms that the platform’s moderation practices were overly stringent.
Zuckerberg, when announcing the adjustments, claimed that previous mitigation strategies had led to “too many mistakes and too much censorship,” yet Meta did not provide specific examples or data on error rates.
Among the changes, Meta eliminated restrictions on referring to LGBTQ+ individuals as mentally ill and on describing women in derogatory terms. The company stated that it would cease proactive monitoring for certain “less severe policy violations,” instead concentrating its automated systems on more serious issues like terrorism and child exploitation.
Beyond individual rulings, the Oversight Board provided 17 recommendations related to the recent policy overhaul. It called for Meta to enhance enforcement of its policies against bullying and harassment, as well as to clarify which harmful ideologies are prohibited on its platforms.
The board also encouraged a review of the potential global implications of the changes, especially in regions facing current or recent crises, such as conflicts. Additionally, it called for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the new Community Notes tool, which has replaced Meta’s partnerships with news organizations and fact-checking services aimed at curbing misinformation.
Meta stated it would respond to the board’s recommendations within a two-month timeframe.
Commitment to the Oversight Board
Despite recent shifts in content moderation, Oversight Board Co-Chair Paolo Carozza remarked that indications suggest Meta remains dedicated to collaborating with the board.
“We have no reason to think that Meta is soured on the board or planning to make any large scale structural changes regarding its commitment,” Carozza communicated to Reuters.
He further noted that since January, Meta has consistently submitted a stable stream of new cases to the Oversight Board and pursued follow-ups on its recommendations.
Meta has pledged to fund the Oversight Board through 2027, allocating at least $35 million annually over the next three years, as disclosed in a blog post by the board last year.
A spokesperson for Meta reiterated to Reuters that the company’s commitment to this funding remains firm.
In prior years, Meta allocated $150 million to the board in 2022 and $130 million at the time of the board’s inception in 2019. Similar to earlier funding, this latest allocation will be placed in the board’s Irrevocable Trust, designed to safeguard its operational independence.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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