Facebook has revealed more details about its planned Oversight Board, a new 40-person independent structure that will serve as a final court of appeals over content acceptability on its platform.

Users who believe their content has been censored unfairly by Facebook moderators will be able to turn to the board after they have gone through the company’s internal appeals process.

In an effort to fend off accusations of political bias and censorship, the board will include members with controversial views. Brent Harris, Facebook’s director of governance and global affairs, said that there would be “people who sit on this board who make a set of people uncomfortable”.

The company claims it will treat the board’s decisions as final, which means if the board deems content fit for the site it will be restored.

“Even if the Facebook leadership and executives disagree with the board’s decisions, they will be implemented, irrespective as to our opinion,” said Heather Moore, one of the Facebook employees building the court. “Unless they violate the law – we have to comply with our legal obligations globally. But that is the only exception.”

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Based on feedback, the company said it will ensure that the board is independent from Facebook, “One way we’re addressing this is by establishing an independent trust. The Oversight Board, the trust and Facebook will have separate roles and responsibilities, all of which will work to ensure that the board is set up for success.” As part of an effort at greater transparency trusts documents will be publicly released.

Facebook said the board, which will hear its first “cases” in 2020 will also have the power to influence new policy. Since November, when Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg first wrote about the board, a team within the company has been working to design the implement its structure.

The company has started recruiting members for the Board, which will have “no less than 11 members”. While membership of the board will be made public, “the composition of individual panels may remain anonymous to ensure the safety and independent judgement of panel members.”

“Over the next few months, we will continue testing our assumptions and ensuring the board’s operational readiness.

“In addition, we will focus on sourcing and selecting of board members, finalizing the bylaws that will complement the charter, and working toward having the board deliberate on its first cases early in 2020.

“We are committed to consulting outside experts at every step, and we look forward to providing more updates on our progress,” Facebook said.

Facebook’s actions in relation to privacy, content moderation and handling of user data have come under serious scrutiny since the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

This move can be seen as a step by Facebook to remove itself from the onus of making judgements on content acceptability.

“We are responsible for enforcing our policies every day and we make millions of content decisions every week,” wrote Zuckerberg.

“But ultimately I don’t believe private companies like ours should be making so many important decisions about speech on our own.”