Facebook’s Oversight Board, an independent panel selected to weigh in on content moderation decisions at the
Social Media platform, says it will uphold Facebook’s indefinite ban on former President
Donald Trump.
But the board also said it was “not appropriate for
Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension,” asking the site to review of that part of the decision within the next six months.
Facebook made the decision to ban Trump from both Facebook and
Instagram after Trump incited a deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6 in a last-ditch attempt to prevent certification of his 2020
election loss to Democrat
Joe Biden. In a post one day after the insurrection, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburgsaid, “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
Twitter also announced Trump was “suspended” from its platform after the insurrection.
Even prior to Trump’s banishment from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for inciting violence, the former president’s social media accounts had become a fount of bigotry and disinformation. Both Facebook and Twitter repeatedly flagged posts in which Trump spread lies about the 2020 election and the
Coronavirus.
In February, the Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights, a coalition of more than 220 national organisations, urged Facebook’s Oversight Board to permanently suspend Trump’s account and criticised the platform for allowing him to defy its community guidelines.
“Facebook merely labelilng the posts was grossly ineffective and did almost nothing to limit the interaction or sharing of the posts by Trump,” the group said.
“The potential of incitement of more violence is a real threat should Trump continue to have the opportunity to spread lies and false information on Facebook. The Oversight Board should recommend suspending the Trump account permanently.”
On Tuesday, Trump launched a private platform for his followers to view his rantings. The reaction was muted. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.