By Chavi Mehta and Katie Paul
(Reuters) – Meta Platforms said on Friday it would implement most of the recommendations made by its independent oversight board to its policy of exempting high-profile users from some of its content-related rules.
The Facebook parent, however, rejected some suggestions to increase transparency and reduce bias toward content generated by public figures.
The oversight board had called for an overhaul of the company’s controversial “cross check” system, which adds a layer of enforcement review for millions of Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to celebrities, politicians and other influential users, allowing them extra leeway to post content that violates the company’s policies.
Meta on Friday said it would fine-tune its criteria to assess who can be included to the list “to better account for human rights interests and equity” and decrease the time it takes to review cases.
The board has said the practice privileged the powerful and allowed business interests to influence content decisions.
One of the recommendations that Meta rejected suggested the social media company publicly mark the pages and accounts of certain public figures receiving list-based protection.
