13/3/24, 13:44 Oversight Board | Independent Judgment. Transparency. Legitimacy. The case, which Meta referred to the Board, raises important questions about the company’s approach to content moderation in conflict situations, where the disclosure of the identities or locations of prisoners of war could expose them to immediate harm or affect their dignity. Concerns regarding human dignity may be acute in situations where prisoners are shown as defenseless or in humiliating circumstances, engaging their right to life, security, and privacy, and right to be free from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as their families’ rights to privacy and security. At the same time, such exposure can also inform public debate and raise awareness of potential mistreatment, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. It can also build momentum for action that protects rights and ensures accountability. Meta is also in a unique position to assist in the preservation of evidence that may be of use in the prosecution of international crimes and in support of human rights litigation, whether the content is removed or left up. The scale and speed at which imagery of prisoners of war can be shared via social media complicates the task of resolving these competing interests. Given the acute harms and risks facing prisoners of war, the Board finds that Meta’s default rule prohibiting the posting of information that could reveal the identities or locations of prisoners of war is consistent with the company’s human rights responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights (UNGPs, commentary to principle 12), which are heightened during armed conflict and must be informed by the rules of international humanitarian law. The Board agrees with Meta’s assessment that the public interest value in keeping the content on the platform with a warning screen outweighed the risk to the safety and dignity of the prisoners of war. Keeping the content on the platform was necessary to ensure the public’s right to know about severe wrongdoing, and in this specific context, to potentially prevent, mitigate and remedy severe human rights harms through public disclosure of wrongdoing. The Board recommends that Meta provides further guidance to reviewers and escalation teams to ensure that content revealing the identity or locations of prisoners of war can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by those with the necessary expertise. Meta should develop more granular criteria to guide assessments of newsworthiness in these cases, which should be shared transparently. The Board calls on Meta to preserve and, where appropriate, share with competent authorities, information to assist in investigations and legal processes to remedy or prosecute grave violations of international criminal, human rights and humanitarian law. https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/FB-YLRV35WD/ 6/26