Inside Meta’s Oversight Board

PLUS: More of WIRED's best longreads from this week.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions  11.20.22 Inside Meta's Oversight Board: 2 Years of Pushing Limits 21-MINUTE READ Some critics see the Oversight Board as an exercise in corporate ass-covering by a bunch of Meta's puppets. If the company doesn't want to make a controversial call, it can push the board to take a position on the issue and, conveniently, take the heat. But since it started hearing cases in the fall of 2020, the board has won grudging respect from the human rights organizations and content moderation wonks who pay attention to its work. Meta, meanwhile, is declaring victory. "I'm absolutely delighted—thrilled, thrilled, thrilled with the progress," says Nick Clegg, the company's president for global affairs. The board's approach to cases "is exactly what you should expect between a social media platform and an independent oversight entity." The truth is more complicated, and Clegg's ebullient praise makes board members nervous. If one of the world's most transgressive companies thinks that the oversight is going fantastically, how great can the board be? Read Steven Levy's inside view of Meta's Oversight Board and find out how its members want to transform how social platforms work. READ THE FULL STORY You Might Also Like ... The Hunt for the Dark Web's Biggest Kingpin, Part 2: Pimp_alex_91 BY ANDY GREENBERG | 24-MINUTE READ On the trail of AlphaBay's mastermind, a tip leads detectives to a suspect in Bangkok—and to the daunting task of tracing his millions in cryptocurrency. This is the second installment in a six-part series. Get exclusive commentary and behind-the-scenes notes from Andy Greenberg by signing up for his The Rise and Fall of AlphaBay companion newsletter.  SIGN UP The Infinite Cloud Is a Fantasy BY STEVEN GONZALEZ MONSERRATE | 9-MINUTE READ It's all too easy to believe in the illusion of neverending data storage and streaming. But it's destroying the natural world. The Man Behind Mastodon Built It for This Moment BY WILL KNIGHT | 5-MINUTE READ People fleeing Twitter have turned to Eugen Rochko's alternative. He says social networks can support healthy debate—without any one person in control. The $6 Billion Shot at Making New Antibiotics—Before the Old Ones Fail BY MARYN MCKENNA | 6-MINUTE READ Antimicrobials cost as much to develop as other drugs, but don't earn the same returns. Congress could give drugmakers a boost, but time is running out. Europe's Cities Are Getting More Crowded—That's a Good Thing BY MATT REYNOLDS | 5-MINUTE READ The sprawling mass of suburbia has been a disaster for the environment. But now smaller, denser cities herald a renaissance in city living. Three-Way Entanglement Results Hint at Better Quantum Codes BY ALLISON PARSHALL | 4-MINUTE READ A team of physicists has entangled three photons over a considerable distance, which could lead to more powerful quantum cryptography. GET WIRED Get WIRED for just $29.99 $5. Includes the print edition plus editor in chief Gideon Lichfield's column, System Update. Subscribe now. Have questions or comments? Reply to this email.   This email was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our email address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions