(Reuters) – Fb Inc’s long-delayed impartial Oversight Board plans to launch in mid-late October, simply earlier than the November U.S. presidential election, but a Fb spokeswoman mentioned on Thursday it was unlikely that the board would deal with election-related cases.

The board, created by Fb in response to criticism of its dealing with of problematic content material, will initially have the ability to evaluate selections to take down posts from Fb and Instagram, and suggest coverage modifications.

Oversight Board member Alan Rusbridger informed Reuters in an interview this week the board was now aiming for an October launch. A board spokesman mentioned that the late launch, initially deliberate for final yr, had been additional slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Potential cases would come to the board from customers who’ve exhausted the appeals course of, or be despatched over from Fb. Deciding and implementing rulings would take up to 90 days, though Fb may ask for them to be expedited inside 30 days.

The Fb spokeswoman mentioned it was unlikely that cases associated to the election would get via the method on condition that time-frame.

Rusbridger additionally informed Reuters that cases involving President Donald Trump’s posts have been not amongst people who the board had checked out in trial runs.

“We haven’t completed a Trump case,” mentioned Rusbridger, a former editor-in-chief of Britain’s Guardian newspaper. “We’ve got completed a nudity case, we’ve completed a blasphemy case.”

Fb confronted worker backlash in latest months over its determination to take no motion over posts from Trump containing deceptive claims about mail-in voting and inflammatory language about anti-racism protests. Its smaller rival Twitter, against this, hooked up fact-checking labels and warnings to the identical posts.

Tech watchdog Accountable Tech, which launched a marketing campaign asking the board’s members to demand “actual authority” or resign, mentioned in an announcement on Thursday the launch can be “too late to deal with Facebook’s deficiencies forward of the election.”

The board will initially evaluate solely appeals over posts that Fb has taken down, quite than content material the corporate decides to depart up. Some specialists say meaning it is going to be of little use in addressing issues reminiscent of misinformation and hate speech.

It is going to additionally at first solely cope with particular person posts, not Fb adverts, or teams.

Rusbridger mentioned the board had not but made any modifications to its remit.

Rusbridger declined to touch upon Facebook’s coverage of exempting politicians’ speech and adverts from its third-party fact-checking program, although he mentioned: “I can’t think about we gained’t have a case introduced to us on that.”

‘Wider resonance’

Because the first 20 members of the board have been introduced in Might, they’ve had digital conferences to talk about points reminiscent of how to choose cases and cope with minority opinions, Rusbridger mentioned.

Rusbridger mentioned the board can be wanting for cases with “wider resonance,” although precedents set by selections on particular person posts would not be binding in future cases.

Fb may also ask the board for coverage suggestions although it does not have to act on them, a framework that was criticized by some U.S. Democratic lawmakers.

The board, which features a former Danish prime minister, a Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate, regulation specialists and rights advocates from all over the world, is anticipated to develop to a gaggle of 40 members.

Rusbridger mentioned the board was eager about the way it will choose these candidates but was not but selecting extra members.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford; Enhancing by Peter Graff, Tom Brown and Steve Orlofsky)