--- title: Facebook's "Oversight Board" Is a Sham. We Need Regulation description: The Facebook Oversight Board will not solve the company's deep and fundamental problems. We need regulation to avoid another Jan. 6 canonical: https://time.com/5933989/facebook-oversight-regulating-social-media/ author: Roger McNamee article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-01-28T15:30:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:52:23.707Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Facebook's "Oversight Board" Is a Sham. The Answer to the Capitol Riot Is Regulating Social Media og:description: "Facebook’s business model harms public health, democracy, privacy, and competition. Its management refuses to acknowledge responsibility for these harms, much less a willingness to make necessary changes" og:url: https://time.com/5933989/facebook-oversight-regulating-social-media/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt369aa932ed8dd334/698a16b8db29872100266469/facebook-regulation-oversight.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-ANTI-TRUST og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Facebook's "Oversight Board" Is a Sham. The Answer to the Capitol Riot Is Regulating Social Media twitter:description: "Facebook’s business model harms public health, democracy, privacy, and competition. Its management refuses to acknowledge responsibility for these harms, much less a willingness to make necessary changes" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt369aa932ed8dd334/698a16b8db29872100266469/facebook-regulation-oversight.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Facebook's "Oversight Board" Is a Sham. The Answer to the Capitol Riot Is Regulating Social Media > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=599eb808-256a-439a-ba48-cba3b4e562d9&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=599eb808-256a-439a-ba48-cba3b4e562d9&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Roger McNamee](https://time.com/author/roger-mcnamee/) and [Maria Ressa](https://time.com/author/maria-ressa/) Jan 28, 2021 3:30 PM UTC  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law on "Online Platforms and Market Power" in the Rayburn House office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 29, 2020\. (Photo by Graeme JENNINGS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GRAEME JENNINGS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law on "Online Platforms and Market Power" in the Rayburn House office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 29, 2020\. (Photo by Graeme JENNINGS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GRAEME JENNINGS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images by [Roger McNamee](https://time.com/author/roger-mcnamee/) and [Maria Ressa](https://time.com/author/maria-ressa/) Jan 28, 2021 3:30 PM UTC Online violence leads to real world violence. The January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol and the role of social media in helping coordinate the riots was not a surprise and the emerging details show this could have been mitigated, if not prevented, if Facebook had taken years of warnings seriously. Buzzfeed reported that for weeks “Women for America First” [were calling for violence ](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/maga-bus-tour-coup)on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. [The Washington Post reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/13/facebook-role-in-capitol-protest/) that dozens of organizations used Facebook to organize bus rides and transportation to the riots, contradicting Sheryl Sandberg’s claim that these events were “largely organized on platforms that don’t have our abilities to stop hate, don’t have our standards and don’t have our transparency.” Facebook also continues to allow Steve Bannon to broadcast despite calling for the beheading of a government official and continuing to make claims the 2020 election was fraudulent. “Stop the Steal” groups perpetuated for months. Evidently, we should not take Facebook’s commitment to stop hate at face value. This is the context for Facebook’s latest PR offensive, touting the new [Facebook Oversight Board](https://time.com/5918499/facebook-oversight-board-cases/), specifically the news that at the Oversight Board will rule on Facebook’s January 7th indefinite [ban of Donald Trump](https://time.com/5927398/facebook-twitter-trump-suspension-capitol/). We applauded the decision to ban Trump. Last September, we [joined a statement calling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R36qQRsXWQk&feature=emb%5Ftitle) on Mark Zuckerberg to ban President Trump and asked asked if blood needed to be spilled before he took action to stop hate and disinformation on his platforms. Sadly, America got its answer: five people died at the insurrection on January 6, some of whom stewed for month in hate speech on Facebook. Activists and dissidents have died in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, India and Pakistan in part because of Facebook’s inaction. An additional 400,000 plus have died from COVID-19 in the U.S., many of them influenced by disinformation amplified by social media. It’s clear that self-regulation has failed, and governments can no longer shirk responsibility for protecting citizens from harmful technology platforms. We recommend regulation along three dimensions: safety, privacy, and competition. To change incentives and make tech safe, there should be personal liability for tech engineers and executives who cause harm. To restore privacy and self-determination, there need to much greater limits on the ownership and exploitation of personal data by businesses. And it is past time to break up tech monopolies and encourage business models that empower, rather than exploit users. The reality is that Facebook failed for years to take action over Donald Trump’s repeated use of its platform to incite violence, spread disinformation, and ultimately try to subvert the election. The organization we represent, [the Real Facebook Oversight Board](http://realfacebookoversight.org/), was formed because our members—leading civil rights leaders, experts and academics— feared Facebook was being used to organize a coup in real time. Our fears became reality. Shouldn’t we celebrate the ban, then, and tout Facebook’s referral of Trump’s “case” to their Oversight Board for deliberation? Sadly, no. The ban may be temporary, and the Oversight Board is an effort to cloak harmful decisions in a veil of legitimacy. There are four reasons why. **First, mandate.** The Oversight Board has a quasi-legal structure and will make judgments based on arguments of legality with a bias towards Facebook’s extreme interpretation of free speech. The Trump ban is a matter of public safety, a perfect example of the limits of free speech. If the First Amendment is the only consideration, as is likely to be the case, the Oversight Board will recommend reinstating Trump. This is likely Facebook’s preferred outcome, as Trump is good for their business. The Oversight Board will provide cover for Facebook to do what it wants to do. **Second, lack of independence.** Only one entity can refer cases to the Oversight Board and guarantee their review—Facebook. Cases are heard in private, by a hand-picked, paid board which reports findings back to Facebook for action. It gives the appearance of oversight, but the process is ultimately controlled by Facebook itself. **Third, structure.** There are millions of problematic posts on Facebook every day, the vast majority of which leave the victims without recourse. The Oversight Board can take on only a handful of cases, always with a significant delay. The board is powerless by design to step in and address the constant churn of disinformation, hate speech or questionable content that’s live on the site. The sad truth is that harmful content is highly engaging and serves as a lubricant for Facebook’s core business. **Fourth, lack of legitimacy.** Governments have failed to protect their citizens from harmful technology. Some authoritarian leaders, like Trump in the U.S. and Duterte in the Philippines, have harnessed Facebook to gain and consolidate their power. Despite terms of service to the contrary, Facebook permits harmful content to pervade its sites. Enforcement is inconsistent, when it happens at all. The Oversight Board has been structured to deal with individual posts, rather than the systemic flaws of Facebook. It is an illusion disguised as a remedy. Facebook’s strategy appears to be alignment with winners, which may explain why the leaders of India and Brazil are not held to the same benchmark as Donald Trump and, even now, are using the Facebook group of companies to incite violence and spread disinformation. Trump and his enablers remain unrepentant, which means they are still a threat to public safety. For that reason, we believe Facebook should permanently ban Trump and his enablers from all of its platforms. Facebook’s business model harms public health, democracy, privacy, and competition. Its management refuses to acknowledge responsibility for these harms, much less a willingness to make necessary changes. We should not pretend that the Facebook Oversight Board is more than a McGuffin designed to distract us from serious issues. As citizens, we must demand that our leaders take action. _Roger McNamee is_ _an early Facebook investor and author of the New York Times bestseller_ Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe_; Maria Ressa is a 2018 Time Person of the Year and co-founder of Rappler in the Philippines. 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