PARIS: The oversight board for social media giant Meta said on Tuesday it found `recurrent enforcement failures` in content moderation related to the US midterm elections and Brazil`s presidential election.

The identified failures were often cases of `over-enforcement that suppresses political speech, and under-enforcement that undermines electoral integrity,` said the board, which independently checksmoderation on Meta`s Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook platforms.

Social media is a go-to source of electoral information for many voters, raising fears in several countries that it could swing results in favour ofcertaininterests.

Meta`s oversight board, in a statement, noted `the removal of political activist accounts during protests in the US ahead of the midterm elections` and `technical restrictions that hit the accounts of a presidential candidate in Brazil leading to allegations of electoral interference`.

It added: `It`s clear that Meta must do more to ensure that its enforcement practices during elections are transparent and consist-ent, and that political speech is protected rather than stifled.

Brazil election controversy Brazil`s top electoral court on Monday gave Meta 24 hours to prove it is treating President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his right-wing opponent Flavio Bolsonaro equally.

The order came after Lula`s campaign alleged that Meta was suppressing his online content on Instagram and WhatsApp to boost Bolsonaro ahead of a runoff election round on Sunday.

Meta has denied taking any actions to favour one side in Brazil`s election, but previously said that some of Lula`s campaign ads hadbeen mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors not isolated to Brazil.

On Monday, the group run by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg apologised on X over another controversy in the United States.

An Instagram account called `No Kings` after citizen groups protesting what they saw as unconstitutional power grabs by President Donald Trump was temporarily deactivated on Saturday.

`We sincerely apologise,` Meta spokesman Andy Stone said on X, blaming `automated systems` for taking down accounts that had `very high frequencies` of posts, shares or comments.

Meta`s oversight board reiterateda call for the company to fulfil its promises to make fewer moderation mistakes around elections and political debate.

Joel Kaplan to leave company Meta Platforms` chief global aff air s officer Joel Kaplan will leave the company next year after 15 years there, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick will add external affairs to her portfolio, the spokesperson said.

The move comes ahead of the Nov 3 midterm elections. McCormick was part of the Donald Trump administration during his first stintas US president. Kaplan was elevated to Meta`s top policy role in January last year, as the social media giant rolled back US factchecking, ended diversity initiatives and sought closer ties with Trump. A longtime Republican strategist, Kaplan served as deputy chief of staff for policy in the administration of George W. Bush. Meta is among the tech companies facing questions over AI`s impacts, as concerns mount over safety and the industry`s growing footprint among local communities. Trump recently said tech executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, had agreed to establish voluntary AI standards.-Agenciesas US president. Kaplan was elevated to Meta`s top policy role in January last year, as the social media giant rolled back US factchecking, ended diversity initiatives and sought closer ties with Trump. A longtime Republican strategist, Kaplan served as deputy chief of staff for policy in the administration of George W. Bush. Meta is among the tech companies facing questions over AI`s impacts, as concerns mount over safety and the industry`s growing footprint among local communities. Trump recently said tech executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, had agreed to establish voluntary AI standards.-Agencies