Meta Platforms' (META) oversight board on Wednesday criticized the company's January policy overhaul, which weakened fact-checking and relaxed rules on sensitive issues like immigration and gender identity.

The board said the rollout was rushed and lacked transparency, with no clear indication of whether human rights due diligence was conducted beforehand.

The announcement came as the board issued its first content rulings since the changes-sometimes supporting Meta's decisions to keep controversial posts up on topics like transgender bathroom access and, in other cases, requiring removals of posts with racist slurs.

The board made 17 recommendations to Meta including assessing potential harm to Global Majority countries, LGBTQIA+ people, and immigrants, with progress updates every six months and a public report soon.

The board also urged the company to improve enforcement of bullying and Harassment policies, make rules on hate speech clearer, and assess the effectiveness of community notes compared to third-party fact-checking in situations where the rapid spread of false information creates risks to public safety.

Meta did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.