Meta's board signals 'recurring' failures in election content moderation

PARIS — The oversight board for social media giant Meta said Tuesday it found "recurrent enforcement failures" in content moderation related to the U.S. midterm elections and Brazil's presidential election. The identified failures were often cases of "over-enforcement that suppresses political speech, and under-enforcement that undermines electoral integrity," said the board, which independently checks moderation on Meta's Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook platforms. Social media is a go-to source of electoral information for many voters, raising fears in several countries that it could swing results in favour of certain interests. Meta's oversight board, in a statement, noted "the removal of political activist accounts during protests in the U.S. ahead of the midterm elections" and "technical restrictions that hit the accounts of a presidential candidate in Brazil leading to allegations of electoral interference." It added, "It's clear that Meta must do more to ensure that its enforcement practices during elections are transparent and consistent, and that political speech is protected