Facebook announces new 'neutral supreme court' body to police site – including ex-Danish PM and former Guardian editor
FACEBOOK'S new “neutral supreme court” body includes an ex-Danish PM and the former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, it was revealed yesterday.
The social media giant has announced the first 20 members of its new independent oversight board, but it has been blasted for containing a string of left-wing figures.
Critics have now accused boss Mark Zuckerberg of “blowing” his chance of setting up a “politically balanced” oversight committee for the social media giant due to the politics of some of the people involved.
Mr Rusbridger was editor of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper for 20 years, and recently claimed US television should stop showing President Trump's White House press conferences.
His appointment is believed to have been pushed for by former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Nick Clegg, who is now head of public affairs at Facebook.
Denmark's first female prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has also joined, despite running left-wing campaigns that were pro-immigration and demanded high taxes.
The social democrat is also the wife of Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who himself is the son of ex-party leader Neil.
Facebook bosses hope the board will help it improve after a heavy backlash for its role in the spread of fake news.
The appointments sparked fury among Tory MPs, who claimed Facebook had “failed miserably” to provide political balance.
Damian Green, a Conservative MP and member of the Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said: “Globally, Facebook is much more important than any newspaper or broadcaster, so it has a consequent responsibility to demonstrate it is open to a range of views.”
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski said: “It is important that any organisation, be it a global corporate or local government, benefits from a plurality of views which are reflective of the societies in which they operate.”
Backbencher Andrew Bridgen said: “It seems strange that any company which aims to offer services to a population would consistently recruit to positions of considerable responsibility individuals with what are clearly minority political views.
“It is not only bad practice – it’s also bad business and risks alienating the majority of their customer base”.
The 20 members of Facebook's 'Supreme Court'
Alan Rusbridger- Former editor-in-chief of The Guardian
András Sajó – A former judge and vice president of the European Court of Human Rights
John Samples – Runs a libertarian think tank
Nicolas Suzor – A Queensland University of Technology Law School professor
Helle Thorning-Schmidt – Former prime minister of Denmark and CEO of Save the Children.
Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei – A human rights advocate across Africa
Evelyn Aswad – A University of Oklahoma College of Law professor
Endy Bayuni – Former editor-in-chief of The Jakarta Post
Sudhir Krishnaswamy – A vice chancellor of the National Law School of India University
Ronaldo Lemos – Media lawyer who co-created a national internet rights law in Brazil.
Michael McConnell – A former U.S. federal circuit judge
Julie Owono – A digital rights and anti-censorship advocate in Africa
Emi Palmor – Former director general of the Israeli Ministry of Justice
Catalina Botero Marino, Former U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of expression
Katherine Chen – A communications scholar at the National Chengchi University
Nighat Dad – A digital rights advocate in Pakistan and South Asia
Jamal Greene – A Columbia Law professor
Pamela Karlan – A Stanford Law professor
Tawakkol Karman – A Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Maina Kiai – Director of Human Rights Watch's Global Alliances and Partnerships Program
Other members include vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute John Samples, Columbia University law professor Jamal Green, Brazilian technology lawyer Ronaldo Lemos and former European Court of Human rights judge András Sajó.
Another is conservative US judge Michael McConnell, who insisted the board would not be biased.
He said: “If we do our jobs right, this will bring about a degree of political and cultural neutrality in the decision making.
“One of the things that disturbs many people about Facebook and other social media is that they feel they may have a thumb on the scale in favour of one ideology or one political movement over another.”
Facebook public policy director Brent Harris yesterday claimed the board showed the “beginning of a fundamental change in the way some of the most difficult content decisions on Facebook will be made.'”
The firm's board director Thomas Hughes added: “This is a group that has a diverse set of insights, backgrounds, and beliefs but share a deep commitment to advancing human rights and freedom of expression.”
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