Former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram ban was upheld on Wednesday morning.
The decision was made by the Facebook Oversight Board, a quasi-independent organization that was created and funded by Facebook, but claims to be an independent and neutral third-party. While it has no legal authority, Facebook says the board’s decision is binding.
The board said the company should review Trump’s status in six months. It said that Facebook’s “indefinite” suspension of Trump violated its own rules. The suspension must have a clear duration. A permanent deletion is also possible.
“Facebook cannot make up the rules as it goes, and anyone concerned about its power should be concerned about allowing this. Having clear rules that apply to all users and Facebook is essential for ensuring the company treats users fairly. This is what the Board stands for,” the board said.
On January 7th – the day after Trump supporters led a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol – Facebook banned the former president “indefinitely.”
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote at the time.
On Wednesday, the Oversight Board said Facebook should consider its own role in the January 6th violence:
Finally, we urged Facebook to conduct a review into its contribution to the narrative of electoral fraud and political tensions that led to the events of January 6. This should look at Facebook’s design and policy choices that may allow its platform to be abused.
Facebook’s Trump ban was arguably the most consequential social media ex-communication of all time. A day later, Twitter followed suit (they’ve barred Trump for life). On January 12th, YouTube announced it was also suspending Trump’s accounts. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said the suspension would remain in place until the threat of real-world violence decreased.
Trump’s inability to use social media hampers his future political ambitions. From USA Today:
Without his social media bullhorns, he has relied instead on a patchwork of press releases, television interviews, emails and robocalls to get his message out to supporters. On Tuesday, he launched a web page “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” which will eventually allow him to be in direct touch with his supporters. He has also talked of starting his own social media platform.
The Oversight Board received over 9,000 pubic responses concerning Trump’s controversial case.
