On Tuesday (17 July) Channel 4's latest episode of Dispatches went undercover at CPL in Dublin, Facebookâs largest moderation centre for UK content.
The show, entitled 'Inside Facebook: Secrets of the Social Media Platform', detailed the decisions behind what is allowed to remain on the site and what should be deleted.
While millions of Facebook posts are reported/flagged every week, some of the decisions made by CPL regarding what content was removed, proved highly controversial.
As much of the content was highly distressing in nature and included graphic violence and images of abuse, we are naturally very concerned about the implications of the programme for our members.
ISBA's Director General, Phil Smith said:
"Some of the findings of the Dispatches programme are very concerning and we are in dialogue with Facebook to understand how these affect the commitments they have made regarding the enforcement of their community standards. We note that Facebook have taken steps in recent months towards greater transparency. We welcome these and would encourage further progress in this direction.
ISBA has a clear view that the technology platforms could best protect their users and their own reputations by working together, to build a system of content regulation based on transparency and independent oversight. The disturbing footage and images exposed by Despatches show us that this should be looked at with some urgency.
We will be keeping our members up to date with developments following the programme."
We will continue to keep the pressure up on Facebook regarding their content moderation procedures and will be organising further opportunities for you to meet with senior members of the team and put your concerns to them.
Facebook has also issued a response to the show, which is available to view here.