Digital rights activist Nighat Dad has been named as one of the members of Facebook’s independent “supreme court” empowered to make binding decisions about what content should be allowed or removed at the social network and Instagram.

Facebook will implement the board’s decisions, unless they violate the law, and “respond” to guidance on policies,Nighat Dad has been named as member in that board. The oversight board is to make final decisions regarding the kinds of posts known to embroil Facebook in controversy about censorship, misinformation, or free speech.

Facebook public policy director Brent Harris described the creation of the board as the “beginning of a fundamental change in the way some of the most difficult content decisions on Facebook will be made.”

The 20 announced members of the panel come from various countries and include jurists, human rights activists, journalists, a Nobel peace laureate and a former Danish prime minister.

“This is a group that has a diverse set of insights, backgrounds, and beliefs but share a deep commitment to advancing human rights and freedom of expression,” board director Thomas Hughes said during a phone briefing.

The board is to be expanded to 40 members. It remained unclear when the board would start hearing cases due to restrictions on gathering or traveling caused by the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Board members have met virtually and training has started, according to Hughes.

The board was first proposed by Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg, and the California-based internet giant has set up a foundation to fund it operating as an independent entity, Harris said.

“As the world lives through a global health crisis, social media has become a lifeline for helping people and communities to stay connected,” the board said in a blog post.

“At the same time, we know that social media can spread speech that is hateful, harmful, and deceitful. In recent years, the question of what content should stay up or come down, and who should decide this, has become increasingly urgent for society.”

Hughes said he was open to the board serving as an arbiter of disputes for other social media firms such as Twitter but that, for now, the focus is on filling its roster and getting into action on cases about Facebook or Instagram posts.

Zuckerberg has personally assured the board the social network will abide by its decisions, according to co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister of Denmark.