By Barbara Ortutay, Technology Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) --A group of prominent Facebook critics, including one of the social network's early investors and a journalist facing jail time in the Philippines, are launching their version of an "oversight board" to rival the company's own.
The group says Facebook is taking too long to set up its oversight panel, which they argue is too limited in its scope and autonomy.
The critics, who include early investor Roger McNamee, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa and Shoshana Zuboff, author of "Surveillance Capitalism," are warning that Facebook is already being used to undermine the integrity of the U.S. presidential election and are calling for "proper independent scrutiny" of the company.
The group, however, has no authority over Facebook and it is not an actual "board." Rather, the group says it was started to sound the alarm about Facebook's role in the coming election.
The announcement Friday comes a day after Facebook said its own, quasi-independent oversight board, which has faced numerous delays since the company announced its creation in 2018, will launch in October.
Facebook's own panel is intended to rule on thorny content issues, such as when Facebook or Instagram posts constitute hate speech. It will be empowered to make binding rulings on whether posts or ads violate the company's rules. Any other findings it makes will be considered "guidance" by Facebook.
Its 20 members, which will eventually grow to 40, include a former prime minister of Denmark, the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian newspaper, along with legal scholars, human rights experts and journalists, such as Tawakkol Karmanm, a Nobel Laureate and journalist from Yemen, and Julie Owono, a digital rights advocate.
The first four board members were directly chosen by Facebook. Those four then worked with Facebook to select additional members. Facebook also pays the board members' salaries.
The critic-launched group, meanwhile, also includes Toomas Henrik Ilves, a former president of Estonia, Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, Rashad Robinson, the president Color of Change and Reed Galen, co-founder of the Lincoln Project.
There's also Ressa, CEO of the news site Rappler, who's been critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and was convicted of libel and sentenced to jail in June in a decision called a major blow to press freedom in the country. She has been an outspoken critic of Facebook, and said in August that "the tech platforms have created a system where lies laced with anger and hate spread faster than facts."
Guardian journalist and Facebook critic Carole Cadwalladr, who helped set up the group, said its goal is "to provide platform to amplify the voices that need to be counterbalancing Facebook's denials and disclaimers."
"It's very noticeable that Facebook's oversight board didn't ask anybody who has been loudly critical of the platform," she said.
In a statement Thursday, Facebook said it "ran a year-long global consultation to set up the Oversight Board as a long-lasting institution that will provide binding, independent oversight over some of our hardest content decisions."
The members, the company added, were selected "for their deep experience in a diverse range of issues. This new effort is mostly longtime critics creating a new channel for existing criticisms."
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More