According to a study conducted by UN Women, nearly half (49 per cent) of women internet
users in eight nations in the League of Arab States reported feeling unsafe from online
harassment. The same study found “33 per cent of women who experienced online violence
report[ed] that some or all of their experiences of online violence moved offline.” Online
violence was defined as including receiving unwanted images or symbols with sexual
content; annoying phone calls, inappropriate or unwelcome communications; and receiving
insulting and/or hateful messages. According to a UN Secretary-General report, online
violence “impedes women’s equal and meaningful participation in public life through
humiliation, shame, fear and silencing. This is a ‘chilling effect,’ whereby women are
discouraged from actively participating in public life.” ( A/77/302, para. 22)
3. Oversight Board authority and scope
The Board has authority to review Meta’s decision following an appeal from a person who
previously reported content that was left up (Charter Article 2, Section 1; Bylaws Article 3,
Section 1).
The Board may uphold or overturn Meta’s decision (Charter Article 3, Section 5), and this
decision is binding on the company (Charter Article 4). Meta must also assess the feasibility
of applying its decision in respect of identical content with parallel context (Charter Article 4).
The Board’s decisions may include non-binding recommendations that Meta must respond
to (Charter Article 3, Section 4; Article 4). Where Meta commits to act on recommendations,
the Board monitors their implementation.
When the Board selects cases like this one, where Meta subsequently acknowledges that it
made an error, the Board reviews the original decision to increase understanding of the
content moderation process and to make recommendations to reduce errors and increase
fairness for people who use Facebook and Instagram.
4. Sources of authority and guidance
The following standards and precedents informed the Board’s analysis in this case:
I. Oversight Board decisions:
The most relevant previous decisions of the Oversight Board include: