The Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist Tawakkol Karman has joined the content-related oversight board of Facebook and Instagram.

"I have joined the Supervisory Board to help protect and empower people's voices and defend freedom of expression," Tawakkol Karman said in a statement on her official Facebook page.

Mrs. Karman pointed out that the board members are world-renowned figures known for siding with democratic values and for defence of rights and freedoms, have various experiences and different beliefs and come from diverse professional, cultural, political and religious backgrounds and viewpoints. 

“The board will work independently, transparently and clearly so as to adjudicate Facebook and Instagram’s content cases and make binding decisions on what should and shouldn’t be published in this regard, bearing in mind freedom of expression and human rights principles”, she emphasized. 

She continued to say “We will also serve as critical lens and hold Facebook and Instagram accountable. Our board’s decisions will be so binding that Facebook and Instagram will have to implement them regardless of their own economic or political interests, or of reputation considerations”. 

It is noteworthy that all board members operate independently from Facebook and all other social media companies, and Facebook is not empowered to remove or change them.

According to a statement by the board, its financial independence is guaranteed through the establishment of a $ 130 million trust that funds all operations and cannot be revoked and has maintained that its board members will make judgements free from influence or interference.