Meta’s Oversight Board extends its scope to Instagram Threads

Meta’s Oversight Board is now including Instagram app Threads in its scope, allowing users to challenge Meta’s decisions by appealing eligible content to the Board. This expansion marks the first time the Board’s review has covered a new app, after reviewing appeals from Facebook and Instagram users since October 2020.
The Board stated, “People using Threads will be able to challenge Meta’s decisions by appealing eligible content to the Oversight Board. The appeals process for Threads is similar to the one for Facebook and Instagram.”
After exhausting Meta’s internal appeals process, users will receive an Oversight Board reference ID to submit their cases for review on the Oversight Board website. Additionally, Meta can refer cases about content on Threads to the Board.
Members of the Board will assess Meta’s content decisions based on Instagram’s Community Guidelines, the company’s values, and its international human rights commitments, particularly to the principles of freedom of expression. Their decisions will be binding, and Meta must implement them within seven days.
The Board will also have the power to make recommendations for how Meta can improve its approach to content moderation, which the company must respond to within 60 days. While Threads is evolving rapidly, Meta will be able to implement policy and enforcement recommendations from decisions about Threads, but not product-specific recommendations.
This expansion of the Oversight Board’s scope to include Instagram app Threads signifies a significant step in enhancing user appeal processes and holding Meta accountable for its content moderation decisions. The Board’s decisions are binding and will strive to uphold the principles of freedom of expression, making it a crucial mechanism in ensuring fair and responsible content moderation on Meta’s platforms.