3/10/22, 12:48 Oversight Board | Independent Judgment. Transparency. Legitimacy. Even without the discovery of the misplaced guidance, the content should never have been removed. The user did not advocate violence in their post and did not express support for Öcalan’s ideology or the PKK. Instead, they sought to highlight human rights concerns about Öcalan’s prolonged solitary confinement which have also been raised by international bodies. As the post was unlikely to result in harm, its removal was not necessary or proportionate under international human rights standards. The Oversight Board’s decision The Oversight Board overturns Facebook’s original decision to remove the content. The Board notes that Facebook has already restored the content. In a policy advisory statement, the Board recommends that Facebook: Immediately restore the misplaced 2017 guidance to the Internal Implementation Standards and Known Questions (the internal guidance for content moderators). Evaluate automated moderation processes for enforcement of the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. Where necessary, Facebook should update classifiers to exclude training data from prior enforcement errors that resulted from failures to apply the 2017 guidance. Publish the results of the ongoing review process to determine if any other policies were lost, including descriptions of all lost policies, the period they were lost for, and steps taken to restore them. Ensure the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations “policy rationale” reflects that respect for human rights and freedom of expression can advance the value of “Safety.” The policy rationale should specify in greater detail the “real-world harms” the policy seeks to prevent and disrupt when “Voice” is suppressed. Add to the policy a clear explanation of what “support” excludes. Users should be free to discuss alleged abuses of the human rights of members of designated organizations. Explain in the Community Standards how users can make the intent behind their posts clear to Facebook. Ensure meaningful stakeholder engagement on the proposed changes to its Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy through Facebook’s Product Policy Forum, including through a public call for inputs. Ensure internal guidance and training is provided to content moderators on any https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/IG-I9DP23IB/ 4/21