10/7/24, 12:02 Dehumanizing speech against a woman | Oversight Board Meta initially left the content on Facebook. When the Board brought this case to Meta’s attention, it reviewed both the original post and the updated post. The company noted that both versions of the content include a negative physical description of a private individual by comparing her to a truck and both make inferences about her sexual activity by claiming she is “advertised all over town,” though the edited post is more explicit with the references to dating websites. Therefore, Meta determined that both versions violated its Bullying and Harassment policy, and its original decision to leave up the content was incorrect. The company then removed the content from Facebook. Board authority and scope The Board has authority to review Meta's decision following an appeal from the user who reported content that was then left up (Charter Article 2, Section 1; Bylaws Article 3, Section 1). Where Meta acknowledges it made an error and reverses its decision in a case under consideration for Board review, the Board may select that case for a summary decision (Bylaws Article 2, Section 2.1.3). The Board reviews the original decision to increase understanding of the content moderation process, to reduce errors and increase fairness for people who use Facebook and Instagram. Case significance The case highlights a concern with how Meta fails to enforce its policy when a post contains bullying and harassment, which can be a significant deterrent to open online expression for women and other marginalized groups. Meta failed to remove the content which violates two elements of the Bullying and Harassment Community Standard, as an attack with “negative physical description” and “claims about sexual activity," despite the post receiving millions of views and hundreds of reports by Facebook users. Previously, the Board issued a series of recommendations for Meta to clarify several points of ambiguity in its Bullying & Harassment policy (“ Pro-Navalny protest in Russia,” recommendations no. 1-4), half of which Meta implemented, and half of which the company declined after a feasibility assessment. The Board is concerned that this case may indicate a more widespread problem of underenforcement of the anti-bullying standard - which likely has disproportionate impacts on women and members of other vulnerable groups. The Board underlines the need for Meta to holistically address concerns the Board includes in its case decisions and implement relevant recommendations to reduce the error rate in moderating bullying content impacting all users, while balancing the company’s values of “Safety,” “Dignity,” and “Voice.” Decision https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/FB-VJ6FO5UY/ 3/5