The company shouldn't have taken police demands to remove drill music from its platform, according to the Meta Oversight Board. The board disagrees with the ban on the UK drill song by the social network.
The board wants Meta to be more transparent about its relationship with law enforcement in the future, as well as stronger consideration of a work's artistic context. Within 60 days, Meta must reverse the ban.
The board decided over a song called "Secrets Not Safe" by musician Chinx. After the song and its music video appeared on social media, Meta sent a request to the police to investigate. Meta decided that the song was in violation of its rules because it referred to a shooting from last year and included a threatening call to action.
The decision was not enforced in a consistent manner. The song was re-banned a week later, after a second request from the police, after the creator appealed and had the song restored by a reviewer outside the team.
The board questioned if Meta had made an independent assessment of the context. There are other details that could have convinced Meta that the song wasn't a threat.
"Not every piece of content that law enforcement would prefer to have taken down, and not every piece of content that has the potential to lead to escalating violence, should be taken down."
The level of privileged access law enforcement has to Meta's internal enforcement teams is demonstrated by this case.
There is a gray area at the intersection of law enforcement and social networks when it comes to requests to take down speech. The Metropolitan Police email is one example of a soft request that Meta has been less transparent about. The level of privileged access law enforcement has to Meta's internal enforcement teams is demonstrated by this case. Law enforcement is not asked to meet minimum criteria to fully contextualize and justify their requests.
Meta didn't live up to its values according to the Oversight Board The decision states that art is important and powerful for people from marginalized groups to create art.
A minimum standard of detail from police in requests is required by the decision. The account was permanently deleted before the decision was made.
Social networks have faced calls to remove drill music in the US. New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized web platforms for allowing the genre, but later insisted he wasn't trying to make them ban it. In the context of covid misinformation, the controversy plays into a larger discussion about informal government pressure on web platforms.
Meta might benefit from the Oversight Board being semi-independent. If Meta wants to push back on future law enforcement requests, a declaration that drill music has artistic value gives them a clear path.
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