By Lindsay Whitehurst
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) --A new quasi-independent oversight board will soon make decisions on some of the most difficult questions on what material belongs on Facebook's platform in a "very public way," an executive for the social-media company said Friday.
The board will consider a small number of cases where all appeals of Facebook decisions have been exhausted, the company's director of governance and strategic initiatives, Andy Pergam, said in speech at the University of Utah.
The board's decisions and the company's responses will be public, he said.
Its rulings will be binding in individual cases, but broader policy findings will be advisory.
"They'll do all this in a very public way. This is the mechanism by which the board will have lasting policy influence over a company like Facebook," he said.
Board members who are experts in a range of disciplines from around the world will be named December and begin hearing cases in early 2020.
The board will begin by weighing users' posts and is expected to take on ads later.
The ads have recently come under scrutiny after Facebook refused demands to remove President Donald Trump campaign ads that make false claims.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the refusal to take down content it considers newsworthy on Thursday, saying he stands for free expression. His speech at Georgetown University was maligned by critics who said the company has failed to curb the spread of disinformation.
Zuckerberg announced plans to establish the oversight board last year during a firestorm over an inability to quickly and effectively misinformation as well as hate speech and malign influence campaigns on the platform. Critics have called the board a bid to forestall regulation or even an eventual breakup of the company as Facebook faces antitrust investigations.
The board's establishment is "one of the highest-priority projects" at the company, Pergam said.
He called it an effort that many Facebook officials are "losing a lot of sleep over, because it's that important to get right."
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