First revealed as a plan in late 2018 and expected to be in place for late 2020, the oversight board will focus on disputes over content posted to the platform. Due in part to the independence the board is expected to have, it is colloquially referred to as Facebook’s “Supreme Court.” It mimics a different branch of government, and is intended to offer the necessary checks and balances to Facebook’s power.

The Board's Composition

The board will have at least 11 members and may grow to as many as 40, each of whom will serve a maximum of three terms (with each term being three years). The board will also have permanent staff who will support the board members and help manage the cases to be heard by the board. Cases will be chosen by the board, although both Facebook as a company and Facebook users can appeal or request that the board review a case.

While global, the board may split into smaller panels that focus on specific content (whether linguistic or cultural), and members may remain anonymous if there are concerns for their safety (or perhaps if they reside in an authoritarian regime).

The company has indicated that these members will not be elected, although they have begun selecting criteria for membership, which include provisions to prevent conflicts of interest (for example, current or former Facebook employees or government officials would not be allowed to sit on the board).

Where the Board Falls Short

The company deserves some applause for its effort in developing the charter, and its movement toward establishing the oversight board. However, the initiative falls far short of what is necessary. By holding a narrow focus, lacking true independence and acting without necessary partnerships (with government, or other platforms), the oversight board is something of a Potemkin village of governance: window dressing for a chaotic, if not ineffective, system.

Narrow focus: Certainly, the governance of content is important, but it should go hand in hand with the oversight of the platform as a whole, including regulation around user rights, privacy and data collection. User disputes over content are only a small slice of what’s wrong with Facebook. How the platform’s advertising system works and is used, interference in elections and democracies, as well as Facebook’s impact on markets and sectors, are all important issues that are beyond the scope of this oversight board.