The Meta Supervisory Board Of The New Policy District That Loosens Content Moderation

Chairman with Supervisory Board, Paolo Carozza (photo; x @KelloggInst)

JAKARTA The Supervisory Board of Meta Platforms (conductors from Facebook and Instagram) on Wednesday, April 23, strongly condemned the massive policy changes made by the company in January 2025. The changes removed fact-checking programs in the US and relaxed restrictions on sensitive topics such as immigration and gender identity.

The Supervisory Board, which operates independently but funded by Meta, urged the world's largest social media company to evaluate the "bad effects" that may arise from the policy, which was announced shortly before US President Donald Trump began his second term of office.

The council highlighted that the changes were made in a hurry and deviated from standard procedures, with no public information related to the evaluation of human rights impacts that Meta may have done.

The move puts the council in a potential conflict with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who this year is trying to improve relations with Trump and remove various mitigation attempts that have been implemented over the past decade against hate speech, disinformation and violent content.

The board issued its first decision since the January changes, with some supporting Meta to continue to broadcast controversial content (such as discussions about transgender access to the bathroom), and some ordering the removal of content containing racist speech.

In its official statement, a Meta spokesperson said it welcomed the decision to maintain or restore content for freedom of expression, but did not respond to other decisions asking for content to be removed.

Meta's New Policy: Reduce Sensors, Improve Controversy

Meta removed fact-checking programs in the US and eased restrictions on sensitive topic discussions, in response to criticism from conservatives who considered content moderation too tight. Zuckerberg stated that previous mitigation efforts "has resulted in too many errors and too many sensors," although no concrete data or examples were provided.

Dalam perubahan kebijakan itu, Meta juga menghapus pembatasan terhadap penyebutan bahwa orang gay menderita gangguan jiwa dan wanita sebagai objek rumah tangga. Perusahaan menyatakan akan berhenti secara aktif menguncankan konten untuk pelanggaran kebijakan yang kuran parah, dan hanya fokus pada konten ekstrem seperti perorisaan, penggunahan anak, dan penipuan.

The council issued 17 recommendations to Meta, including improving the implementation of anti-bullying policies and clarifying what hate ideologies are prohibited on their platforms.

Meta was also asked to evaluate whether this policy change had an uneven impact worldwide, especially in countries that were or had just experienced a crisis, such as armed conflict.

In addition, the Council urged Meta to assess the effectiveness of the Community Notes of new tools that replace fact-checking partnerships with the media and publish evaluation results every six months.Meta said it would respond to all recommendations within 60 days.

Meta Still Supports Supervisory Board

Despite a major shift in content moderation, the Joint Chair of the Supervisory Board, Paolo Carozza, said that so far Meta remains committed to their cooperation.

"We see no sign that Meta wants to end or reduce cooperation with the council," Carozza said.

Meta is still sending new cases to the board regularly and following the recommendations provided. Meta is also still committed to funding the Supervisory Board until 2027, with an allocation of at least 35 million US dollars per year over the next three years.

The funds will be stored in the Irrevocable Trust, a structure designed to maintain the board's operational independence.