Meta Agrees to Modify Cross-Check Program Following Oversight Board's Recommendations

Date: March 06, 2023

Meta has responded to the Oversight Board's recommendations to modify its controversial cross-check program, which shields high-profile figures

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced plans to modify its cross-check program, which exempts high-profile users from the automated moderation system. 

The Oversight Board, which reviews Meta's content moderation decisions, had made 32 recommendations to improve the program last December. Meta has agreed to fully implement 11 of those recommendations and partially adopt 15. 

The company has pledged to make the cross-check system more transparent and tweak the criteria it uses to add people to the program. However, Meta is still assessing the feasibility of allowing figures to opt-out of the cross-check program, and it has rejected some of the Oversight Board's recommendations, including publicly marking some of the figures benefitting from the program. 

While the Oversight Board has called Meta's response a "landmark moment," it is not entirely satisfied with the changes. The Board says that "several aspects of Meta's response haven't gone as far as we recommended to achieve a more transparent and equitable system." 

They also note that Meta declined the Board's suggestion to allow deserving users to apply for the protections afforded by the cross-check program. The Board will continue to react to Meta's specific responses in the coming days and weeks. 

The cross-check program had come under fire after a 2021 report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that Meta was using it to shield politicians, celebrities, and popular athletes from its automated moderation system. Meta had claimed that the program allowed the company to apply "additional levels of human review" to posts shared by high-profile figures to avoid wrongly removing them. 

Overall, it is positive to see that Meta is taking steps to modify its cross-check program. However, it is important for the company to address all of the Oversight Board's recommendations to ensure a more transparent and equitable system.