As Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—surpassed 2 billion users in 2019, the company created an independent oversight board to review appeals of the company’s decisions involving content moderation. In this episode, members of Meta’s Oversight Board, Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School and Kenji Yoshino of New York University School of Law, join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the Meta Supreme Court’s structure, its key decisions, and its efforts to ensure free and fair elections in advance of the 2024 presidential election. This program was streamed live on April 29, 2024, as part of our America’s Town Hall series.
Please subscribe to We the People and Live at the National Constitution Center on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
This episode was made possible through the generous support of Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers
Today’s episode was produced by Lana Ulrich, Samson Mostashari, and Bill Pollock. It was engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Samson Mostashari, Cooper Smith, and Yara Daraiseh.
Participants
Michael McConnell is the Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a member of the Meta Oversight Board. He served as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2002 to 2009, and is the author of numerous books about constitutional law, including his latest, The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power Under the Constitution.
Kenji Yoshino is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law and the director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. He currently serves on the board of the Brennan Center for Justice, and on advisory boards for diversity and inclusion for Morgan Stanley and Charter Communications, as well as a member of the Meta Oversight Board. He has published four books, including his most recent book (coauthored with David Glasgow), Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also a professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources:
- Meta Oversight Board
- Former President Trump's suspension, Meta Oversight Board decision (2021)
- Meet the Board
- Brazilian general's speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
- Altered Video of President Biden, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
- Oversight Board Announces New Cases on Israel-Hamas Conflict for Expedited Review (Dec. 2023)
- United States posts discussing abortion, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023)
- Referring to Designated Dangerous Individuals as “Shaheed”, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023)
- Cambodian prime minister, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
- Reporting on Pakistani Parliament Speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
- How to Appeal to the Oversight Board
Stay Connected and Learn More
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].
Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.