Transparency and content control in social media and the fundamental right to freedom of expression

analysis of the performance of the Oversight Board regarding Facebook (Meta)

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to examine the Oversight Board, its composition, performance, and effectiveness. Such a body was created by the company Meta in order to perform further analysis of some cases of content moderation on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. It is assumed that, in the context of a great proliferation of social media platforms and the content shared on them, it becomes more complex to define what can remain on them and what exceeds the right to freedom of expression. The issue becomes even more complex considering the large number of users around the world on these platforms. Moreover, these social networks are often not transparent about their functioning, becoming a concrete application of the so-called Black Box. In this sense, we will analyze concepts such as freedom of expression, content moderation, and transparency, and verify how the independent body created by Meta can help in creating compatibility between such concepts in concrete cases.