Meta Oversight Board Urges Company To Assess ‘Human Rights Impact' Of Hateful Conduct Policy

Core Viewpoint - Meta's oversight board criticized the company's updated hateful conduct policies, particularly a provision allowing users to describe LGBTQ individuals as mentally ill, urging an assessment of the human rights impact on vulnerable groups [1][2][5]. Group 1: Policy Changes - Meta's oversight board described the updates to the hateful conduct policy as "hastily" made and lacking prior human rights due diligence [2][3]. - The updated policy included renaming "hate speech" to "hateful conduct" and erasing specific examples of hateful conduct while adding controversial ones, such as allowing allegations of mental illness based on gender or sexual orientation [4]. - The previous prohibition against dehumanizing speech, including offensive stereotypes, was removed, and the company replaced its third-party fact-checking program with a community notes program [4]. Group 2: Reactions and Criticism - The Human Rights Campaign criticized the policy changes, claiming they would foster misinformation and identity-based harassment, particularly against LGBTQ individuals [5]. - Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the updates as a means to enhance free speech, arguing that previous fact-checking policies were biased and detrimental to trust [6].