Pakistan’s Nighat Dad joins global oversight board for Facebook and Instagram

Pakistani digital rights activist Nighat Dad has been named in a newly established global independent oversight board for Facebook and Instagram content.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Dad said: “I joined because I truly believe in the power, influence & independence this board will have on complex decisions that will be essential for safeguarding & promoting human rights, women’s rights and freedom of expression.”

The rights lawyer that she was looking forward to working with her fellow board members who hail from across the world and “to start hearing cases later this year”.

As a longtime advocate of free expression, privacy and digital rights, I’m pleased to announce that I have joined the new global independent Oversight Board for Facebook and Instagram content. https://t.co/WnNAu3fwUr

— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) May 6, 2020

I joined because I truly believe in the power, influence & independence this Board will have on complex decisions that will be essential for safeguarding & promoting human rights, women’s rights and freedom of expression. The Board was designed to be as inclusive as possible.

— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) May 6, 2020

I am looking forward to working with my fellow Board Members, who come from all over the world, and to start hearing cases later this year. You can read more about the Oversight Board’s mission and current Board Members here: https://t.co/VVgsB9LBf5

— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) May 6, 2020

Facebook had announced the first members of its independent board empowered to make binding decisions about what content should be allowed or removed on the social network and Instagram.

The oversight board is to make final decisions regarding the kinds of posts known to embroil Facebook in controversy about censorship, misinformation or free speech.

Facebook public policy director Brent Harris described creation of the board as the “beginning of a fundamental change in the way some of the most difficult content decisions on Facebook will be made”.

The 20 announced members of the panel come from various countries and include jurists, human rights activists, journalists, a Nobel peace laureate and a former Danish prime minister.

“This is a group that has a diverse set of insights, backgrounds, and beliefs but share a deep commitment to advancing human rights and freedom of expression,” board director Thomas Hughes said during a phone briefing.

The board is to be expanded to 40 members. It remained unclear when the board would start hearing cases due to restrictions on gathering or traveling caused by the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Board members have met virtually and training has started, according to Hughes.

The board was first proposed by Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg in 2018, and the California-based internet giant has set up a foundation to fund it operating as an independent entity, Harris said.

“As the world lives through a global health crisis, social media has become a lifeline for helping people and communities to stay connected,” the board said in a blog post.

“At the same time, we know that social media can spread speech that is hateful, harmful and deceitful. In recent years, the question of what content should stay up or come down, and who should decide this, has become increasingly urgent for society.”

Hughes said he was open to the board serving as an arbiter of disputes for other social media firms such as Twitter but that, for now, the focus is on filling its roster and getting into action on cases about Facebook or Instagram posts.