I’m not sure this announcement marks the end of Facebook VIP account privileges. On March 3, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) responded to the recommendations of its watchdog board. The social network timidly indicated to review its moderation policy for VIP accounts, but rejected the most significant measures, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Last December, Meta’s supervisory board issued 32 recommendations on “crossing.” This very obscure control is aimed at accounts that are very popular on Facebook. They are not subject to automatic checks on their posts as is the case with all other accounts. If a post from one of these accounts is deemed problematic by automatic review, these users will receive special treatment as they are in the greater public interest.
In fact, in normal times, the post is taken down immediately. There, the content remains online while it receives a second verification, a process that usually takes several days and sometimes several months.
Among its recommendations, the Superintendency, in particular, encourages Meta to take measures to improve the transparency of this system and avoid favoritism of certain accounts, particularly political ones.
goal take note
Meta promises to address 26 of the report’s 32 recommendations. But his commitments remain timid. The Menlo Park company said it agreed to provide regular reports on the transparency of the “cross-checking” program and to limit the posting of content from personalities who violated moderation rules.
But Meta has refused important provisions, one of which encourages the publicity of the VIP accounts that benefit from this special control, which are none other than leaders, actors, singers, politicians… The company also refuses to give the criteria that allow a user to benefit from this program.
a survey of Wall Street Journal published in September 2021, indicated that the “cross-checking” program was poorly supervised and the source of many instances of favoritism. For example, senior Facebook executives intervened to protect an internationally known soccer star by posting nude images.
Following this investigation, Meta had asked its supervisory board to make recommendations, which apparently turned out to be more token than helpful.
Source: BFM TV
