Platform Oversight in Practice: How Language Shapes Procedure, Not Outcome in Meta’s Oversight Board
Published in Journal of Online Trust and Safety, 2026
This article examines how language structures procedure within Meta’s Oversight Board. Drawing on 147 decisions issued between 2020 and 2025, it finds that English- and non-English-language cases do not differ significantly in final adjudicative outcomes. Instead, language shapes procedural routing: English-language cases are more often resolved through summary reversal, while non-English cases are more likely to proceed to full panel review.
The article argues that platform-governance legitimacy cannot be evaluated through outcome parity or representation alone. Case selection, procedural filtering, and institutional design are central to understanding how corporate oversight operates across multilingual and globally distributed publics.
Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (2026). "Platform Oversight in Practice: How Language Shapes Procedure, Not Outcome in Meta’s Oversight Board." Journal of Online Trust and Safety.