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12/20/23, 4:12 PM Oversight Board | Independent judgement. Transparency. Legitimacy. Case summary The Board has overturned Meta's decision to remove a video from Instagram showing the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Nigeria. The Board found that restoring the post with a warning screen protects victims' privacy while allowing for discussion of events that some states may seek to suppress. About the case On 5 June 2022, an Instagram user in Nigeria posted a video showing motionless, bloodied bodies on the floor. It appears to be the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a church in southwest Nigeria, in which at least 40 people were killed and many more injured. The content was posted on the same day as the attack. Comments on the post included prayers and statements about safety in Nigeria. Meta's automated systems reviewed the content and applied a warning screen. However, the user was not alerted as Instagram users do not receive notifications when warning screens are applied. The user later added a caption to the video. This described the incident as "sad", and used multiple hashtags, including references to firearms collectors, allusions to the sound of gunfire and the live-action game "airsoft" (where teams compete with mock weapons). The user had included similar hashtags on many other posts. Shortly after, one of Meta's Media Matching Service banks, an "escalations bank", identified the video and removed it. Media Matching Service banks can automatically match users' posts to content that has previously been found violating. Content in an "escalations bank" has been found violating by Meta's specialist internal teams. Any matching content is identified and immediately removed. The user appealed the decision to Meta and a human reviewer upheld the removal. The user then appealed to the Board. https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/IG-OZNR5J1Z/ 2/26

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The Case of Video After Nigeria Church Attack

Case Law

Country

Nigeria

Country Location

Latitude: 7.311172396347703

Longitude: 6.54274292730156

Country Location (linked Case Law): Nigeria

Decision Date: Dec 20, 2022

Case Status: Closed

Keywords

Terrorism

Judicial Body: Meta's Oversight Board

Court Name: Oversight Board

Case Number: 2022-011-IG-UA

Case Summary: The Oversight Board overturned Meta’s decision to remove a video from Instagram showing the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a church in Nigeria, in which at least 40 people were killed, and more were injured. Meta removed the content as it considered that it violated the Violent and Graphic Content policy, the Bullying and Harassment policy, and the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. The Board decided that the video should be restored to the platform to respect freedom of expression and allow people to “discuss the events that some states may seek to suppress” by raising awareness and documenting human rights abuses. Nonetheless, the Board considered that the video needed a “disturbing content” warning screen to protect the privacy of the victims whose faces were visible. The Board also recommended Meta to provide users with a reasoned notification when a warning screen is applied to their content, and to review and clarify the language of the Violent and Graphic Content policy to ensure that it lines up with the moderators’ internal guidance.

*The Oversight Board is a separate entity from Meta and will provide its independent judgment on both individual cases and questions of policy. Both the Board and its administration are funded by an independent trust. The Board has the authority to decide whether Facebook and Instagram should allow or remove content. Decisions, except summary decisions are binding, unless implementing them could violate the law. The Board can also choose to issue recommendations on the company’s content policies.

Case Significance: Mixed Outcome

This decision has a mixed outcome. While the Board underscored the right to freedom of expression in contexts where the content seeks to raise awareness and document human rights abuses, it weighed this right with the victims’ and families’ privacy. In doing so, the Board decided the content should be restored with a warning screen, a less severe measure that justifiably restricts the content’s reach in accordance with international human rights standards.

The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

According to Article 2 of the Oversight Board Charter, “For each decision, any prior board decisions will have precedential value and should be viewed as highly persuasive when the facts, applicable policies, or other factors are substantially similar.” In addition, Article 4 of the Oversight Board Charter establishes, “The board’s resolution of each case will be binding and Facebook (now Meta) will implement it promptly, unless implementation of a resolution could violate the law. In instances where Facebook identifies that identical content with parallel context – which the board has already decided upon – remains on Facebook (now Meta), it will take action by analyzing whether it is technically and operationally feasible to apply the board’s decision to that content as well. When a decision includes policy guidance or a policy advisory opinion, Facebook (now Meta) will take further action by analyzing the operational procedures required to implement the guidance, considering it in the formal policy development process of Facebook (now Meta), and transparently communicating about actions taken as a result.”

Related Caselaw (self)

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

Columbia

Date Updated: Sep 22, 2024

Primary Documents

Decision
English
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CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

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The Case of Video After Nigeria Church Attack

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