The Oversight Board is again pushing Meta to address the flood of AI-generated content on its platform. The group published its two latest decisions dealing with the social media company's handling of AI content.
Meta's rules are consistently and fundamentally inadequate to address the rapid rise of AI-generated content on its platforms. The board delivered this assessment in a public statement.
Both cases were related to posts with AI-generated videos. One depicted a Scottish politician saying refugees are welcome here, even if they rape our women, because white people do that too. The video was a realistic but synthetic portrayal, according to the board. The politician whose voice was replicated said the effect of the video was quite traumatic.
Meta told the board that it did not remove the video when reported because trusted partner organizations had not flagged it. The company also claimed it did not seem to be interfering with voting or other processes. The video was not labeled as AI-generated because the user who posted it did not choose to disclose its synthetic origin.
The Oversight Board said that the video should have been removed for breaking Meta's hateful conduct rules. The board added that the video should have been prominently labeled as AI.
The second case also featured an AI-generated video of a real person. The video was based on a television interview with a volunteer who was promoting menstrual health education. Accounts across social media platforms digitally manipulated the interview footage to ridicule her. Those videos subsequently went viral.
Meta automatically closed a report and subsequent appeal about the post according to the board. The post was never labeled as AI-generated. Meta removed the video for breaking its rules around bullying only after the Oversight Board got involved.
The group says that both cases highlight how AI content is being used to target people on its platforms. The lack of consistent labeling is causing additional harm. From politicians to private citizens, AI-generated deepfakes are increasingly being used to harass and silence women from engaging in public discourse, Oversight Board Co-Chair Pamela San Martin said in a statement. These cases demonstrate a broader, troubling pattern in which women who engage publicly on issues are disproportionately subjected to harassment and misinformation.
The Oversight Board's criticism is unsurprising. The group makes policy recommendations to Meta and has repeatedly criticized the company for its approach to AI content while urging for new rules. The bigger question is whether Meta really cares about the board's perspective on this issue. The company has so far made few changes to its AI labels, which typically consist of a small banner that says AI Info. The company has not agreed to implement many of the board's recommendations on AI labeling in other recent cases.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment on the board's latest comments.
The company has 60 days to respond to the latest recommendations. This includes the proposal that Meta prioritize likely AI content for review when users report it.
