Moderating the Moderators The Role of Linguistic and Cultural Competence in Meta’s Content Moderation

Absztrakt

This article examines the role of linguistic and cultural competence in ensuring fairness within Meta’s content moderation system, focusing on the decisions of the Oversight Board. Using a mixed-methods approach, it analyses 147 published cases alongside two detailed case studies to investigate how interpretive failures influence moderation outcomes. The findings indicate that linguistic and cultural misjudgements occur across languages and regions, suggesting that these shortcomings are systemic rather than confined to low-resource languages or specific geographical contexts. Although such errors do not significantly increase the likelihood of the Oversight Board overturning Meta’s decisions, they are strongly associated with broader policy recommendations and structural reforms. The study demonstrates that cases involving interpretive failures frequently prompt calls for greater transparency, improved contextual guidance, and enhanced moderation practices. It argues that linguistic and cultural competence should be regarded as an essential component of procedural fairness in global platform governance. Furthermore, the article highlights the Oversight Board’s evolving role as a quasi-regulatory institution that extends beyond individual dispute resolution towards promoting systemic accountability. The analysis also reveals the limitations of relying on voluntary corporate governance to safeguard digital rights effectively. By integrating perspectives from legal theory, sociolinguistics, and communication studies, the article offers an interdisciplinary framework for understanding interpretive justice in online content moderation. Ultimately, it concludes that meaningful protection of freedom of expression depends not only on clear rules but also on the capacity to understand speech within its linguistic and cultural context.