Tech giant Meta is raising eyebrows after it reportedly rejected the decision passed on by its Oversight Board to have the Prime Minister of Cambodia’s accounts suspended.
The board issued a statement where it felt the action was necessary and should come into play with immediate effect. But little did anyone realize that the company would refuse acceptance of a suspension period comprising six months from its Facebook and Instagram apps.
As one can imagine, this is definitely news as we don’t usually see the company declining such decisions that the Board recommends. And despite the Board working independently from the firm, Meta usually does take into consideration any decisions that are passed on by them, despite not being obliged to follow any of them.
Meta says it will not suspend the leading ruler Hun Sen after he was accused of engaging in and promoting violence. The news comes after the case went public on Wednesday where the company says it wouldn’t be following with the decision as it’s not in line with its respective policies.
It further went on to add how they assessed the matter in detail by visiting the leader’s accounts on social media. And that’s where they did not find anything that should make them take such drastic measures.
While the company does have a protocol in place for limiting accounts belonging to leaders and influential figures for inciting civil unrest. But at this time, the company has voted against following the board’s advice.
The handling of this particular case is one that hasn’t been private. Most audiences are watching from a distance from other parts of the world and they are calling it a true test for Meta in terms of its policies of free speech regarding public figures. And let’s not forget how much people have always been granted leeway in this regard and been subject to intense criticism.
But the Oversight Board refuses to back down and vows to stand by its decision in this matter. They feel that social media apps really need to ensure the platforms aren’t getting misused by anyone. And that includes those that continually serve as threats or undermine them.
Similarly, the Board is urging Facebook’s parent firm to do anything that would prevent such leaders from exploiting its apps by inciting violent behavior.
At the start, we saw how the company requested the Board to provide decisions on a video that was published by one senator. This content happened to be a part of the post where Sen threatened to gather the masses and carry on with violent protests. It’s surprising how the tech giant opted to leave the video on its apps and not remove it, which again brought forward a new controversy. Meta even says that the content was against its own policies but to see it act against its own rules was shocking.
The Board passed on the decision that it was offensive and ordered that the content needs to be removed as soon as possible. And other recommendations included giving the Sen a long suspension term, after assessing how severe the violation was against human rights.
Let’s not forget how Prime Minister Hun Sen’s history of posts on these apps has always been linked to violence of a new kind. Keeping that in consideration and how he opts to use these apps to intensify the already heated matter is definitely an issue that warrants greater attention. After all, it’s amplifying the threatening situation.
Soon, Meta did comply with the Board’s decision to remove the content after being under pressure but now, it’s refusing to offer a suspension of Sen’s accounts. Moreover, the firm was given a period of two months to provide a response on the matter.
What’s even more interesting is how the tech giant says its rules linked to inciting violence are not linked to a specific day or time but if there’s a constant threat to the well-being of its users due to actions imparted by the government.
It further elaborated how it didn’t have anything to do with looking at the person’s past history of post and that’s when it put former US President Trump’s case into perspective.
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The board issued a statement where it felt the action was necessary and should come into play with immediate effect. But little did anyone realize that the company would refuse acceptance of a suspension period comprising six months from its Facebook and Instagram apps.
As one can imagine, this is definitely news as we don’t usually see the company declining such decisions that the Board recommends. And despite the Board working independently from the firm, Meta usually does take into consideration any decisions that are passed on by them, despite not being obliged to follow any of them.
Meta says it will not suspend the leading ruler Hun Sen after he was accused of engaging in and promoting violence. The news comes after the case went public on Wednesday where the company says it wouldn’t be following with the decision as it’s not in line with its respective policies.
It further went on to add how they assessed the matter in detail by visiting the leader’s accounts on social media. And that’s where they did not find anything that should make them take such drastic measures.
While the company does have a protocol in place for limiting accounts belonging to leaders and influential figures for inciting civil unrest. But at this time, the company has voted against following the board’s advice.
The handling of this particular case is one that hasn’t been private. Most audiences are watching from a distance from other parts of the world and they are calling it a true test for Meta in terms of its policies of free speech regarding public figures. And let’s not forget how much people have always been granted leeway in this regard and been subject to intense criticism.
But the Oversight Board refuses to back down and vows to stand by its decision in this matter. They feel that social media apps really need to ensure the platforms aren’t getting misused by anyone. And that includes those that continually serve as threats or undermine them.
Similarly, the Board is urging Facebook’s parent firm to do anything that would prevent such leaders from exploiting its apps by inciting violent behavior.
At the start, we saw how the company requested the Board to provide decisions on a video that was published by one senator. This content happened to be a part of the post where Sen threatened to gather the masses and carry on with violent protests. It’s surprising how the tech giant opted to leave the video on its apps and not remove it, which again brought forward a new controversy. Meta even says that the content was against its own policies but to see it act against its own rules was shocking.
The Board passed on the decision that it was offensive and ordered that the content needs to be removed as soon as possible. And other recommendations included giving the Sen a long suspension term, after assessing how severe the violation was against human rights.
Let’s not forget how Prime Minister Hun Sen’s history of posts on these apps has always been linked to violence of a new kind. Keeping that in consideration and how he opts to use these apps to intensify the already heated matter is definitely an issue that warrants greater attention. After all, it’s amplifying the threatening situation.
Soon, Meta did comply with the Board’s decision to remove the content after being under pressure but now, it’s refusing to offer a suspension of Sen’s accounts. Moreover, the firm was given a period of two months to provide a response on the matter.
What’s even more interesting is how the tech giant says its rules linked to inciting violence are not linked to a specific day or time but if there’s a constant threat to the well-being of its users due to actions imparted by the government.
It further elaborated how it didn’t have anything to do with looking at the person’s past history of post and that’s when it put former US President Trump’s case into perspective.
Read next: The Creator Economy Might Be Booming But New Study Says 51% Of Them Are Making Less Than $500 Each Month
