Meta’s Governance Body Requests Additional Information on Company’s Revised Hate Speech Policies

Meta’s Oversight Board Seeks Details on Company’s New Hate Speech Policies

In a recent move, Meta’s Oversight Board has issued a response to the social media giant’s new hate speech policies announced in January. The independent group created to assist Meta with content moderation decisions has called for more information about its rules and criticized the company’s approach.

According to reports, Meta’s new policies were “announced hastily, in a departure from regular procedure,” and the Board is now requesting further details. This move comes after Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, rolled back hate speech rules that protected immigrants and LGBTQIA+ users across various platforms.

The Oversight Board has issued 17 recommendations to Meta, including asking the company to measure the effectiveness of its new community notes system, clarify its revised stance on hateful ideologies, and improve how it enforces violations of its harassment policies. The Board also urged Meta to uphold its 2021 commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by engaging with stakeholders impacted by the new policies.

While the Oversight Board has limited ability to steer Meta’s broader policies, it must follow its rulings on individual posts according to company rules. If granted a policy advisory opinion referral, the group could potentially reshape Meta’s content moderation approaches.

In recent decisions on 11 cases across Meta platforms, including anti-migrant speech, hate speech targeting people with disabilities, and suppression of LGBTQIA+ voices, the Oversight Board criticized several of the new content policies announced by Zuckerberg.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/metas-oversight-board-seeks-details-on-new-hate-speech-policies/