Panel Says Meta's Deletion of Comment against Japan PM "Error"

   Silicon Valley, Sept. 10 (Jiji Press)--Meta Platforms Inc.'s Oversight Board said Tuesday that the U.S. social media giant's deletion of a user's comment attacking Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was an "error."
   The board said in a statement that the comment in question was removed "in error" and that the removal was "neither necessary nor consistent with Meta's human rights responsibilities."
   The comment was made on the Threads app in response to a news article in January about a political funds scandal involving Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Kishida. It used the offensive Japanese word "kutabare" against Kishida.
   The board found that the comment was "intended as non-literal political criticism calling attention to alleged corruption, using strong language, which is not unusual on Japanese social media. It was unlikely to cause harm."
   The board added that it checked the meaning of kutabare with experts, who confirmed that it is "widely used...as a statement of dislike and disapproval."

(2024/09/11-13:19)

To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.