Facebook's Oversight Board maintains the suspension of Former President Donald J. Trump from the platform. But not until the social network further decides the fate of the former leader's account in six months.
The technology conglomerate restricted access to both Trump's Facebook and Instagram, on January 7. And that is about to extend.
Trump, in a report by Reuters, has answered back and called the decision and the overall banning across social media "a total disgrace." He even goes on to threaten these companies to soon "pay a political price."
What is the Exact Decision?
"The Oversight Board has upheld Facebook's decision to suspend Mr. Trump's access to post content on Facebook and Instagram," the board said on its website.
The independent board agrees with Facebook that Trump violated its policy on "Dangerous Individuals and Organizations." The said policy disallows any support for violence.
The board points out two posts that "severely violated Facebook's Community Standards and Instagram's Community Guidelines." First, the post with a video that reads: "We love you. You're very special." And secondly, the post including words such as "great patriots" and "remember this day forever."
Moreover, these two posts praise and support violence, the board says.
Additionally, the posts were made on January 6, wherein a mob entered the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Oversight also pointed out Trump's significant influence which could legitimize violent acts. The board goes on to say that "the reach of his posts was large, with 35 million followers on Facebook and 24 million on Instagram."
Indeed, the board agrees on the decision of the social media giant to suspend. However, it calls out how the suspension was implemented. It further reiterated that the indefinite suspension is not parallel to the company policies. Specifically, the rule says that the company could not keep off a user in an undefined time.
The board insists the social network to review and assess the decision in the next six months. It further disagreed and called the indefinite suspension of Trump's account "not appropriate."
What is the Oversight Board? Who are They to Decide?
It is now clear, therefore, that indefinite suspensions are not welcomed in Facebook's policies. Thanks to the independent body that pointed it out. But who are they to decide the fate of Facebook's decisions?
The board is a set of independent panels that Facebook set out to deliberate its decision. It is, more specifically, composed of "20 former political leaders, human rights activists, and journalists," according to The New York Times.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg birthed the idea to have a Supreme Court-like body in 2018. Zuckerberg further said in a speech that he or the company did not want to have the last say on which posts to remove.
Trump's Own "Social Media"
Trump's former campaign manager first hinted that he will have his own social media, sans the cancel culture. Well, the "social media" turns out to be the blogging site WordPress.
Furthermore, as the tech conglomerate decides the fate of Trump's account, it seems like the former president will have to stay on the blogging site.
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Written by Teejay Boris
