Facebook's long-awaited content 'supreme court' has arrived. It's a clever sham | Jeremy Lewin

The regulatory body sounds like a positive step. But it's designed to give political cover while Facebook continues to allow dangerous content

In October, Facebook unveiled its long-awaited oversight board" - a special, semi-independent body, staffed mainly by experts on free speech and constitutional law, with the authority to make decisions about controversial content posted on Facebook's platform.

Sometimes described as Facebook's supreme court", the oversight board has been met, in the legal and academic worlds, mostly with wonder, excitement and praise. Giving predominantly legal scholars input on the content moderation of the world's largest social media platform seems like a positive step for social media governance.