Democrats concerned by Facebook oversight board’s limited authority

Three Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives has urged Facebook Inc to enact the policy recommendations of the company’s oversight board, empowering the independent group of advisers, which the lawmakers said have limited responsibilities.
Facebook’s oversight board has the authority to overturn decisions by the company and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on whether individual content should be allowed on Facebook and Instagram. The independent board focuses on a small slice of challenging issues, including hate speech, harassment and people’s safety.
“We are concerned that Facebook’s Oversight Board – and its members – may be ill-equipped and ill-empowered to meaningfully improve the incredibly troubling behavior of the company,” said a letter sent to members of the oversight board from House Energy and Commerce committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky.