Donald Trump won’t be posting on Facebook anytime soon. The social media company’s independent oversight board announced its decision this morning, saying that Facebook was justified in banning the former president.
“Trump’s posts during the Capitol riot severely violated Facebook’s rules and encouraged and legitimized violence,” a post on the board’s official Twitter account reads.
The Board has upheld Facebook’s decision on January 7 to suspend then-President Trump from Facebook and Instagram. Trump’s posts during the Capitol riot severely violated Facebook’s rules and encouraged and legitimized violence. https://t.co/veRvWpeyCi
— Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) May 5, 2021
Facebook banned Trump shortly after the January 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of the former president’s supporters and white supremacists attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. The company claimed that Trump’s posts incited the violent insurrection.
This, of course, came after years of the company turning a blind eye to the lies, misinformation, and harmful rhetoric the former president spewed on its platform. It failed to act when, last May, in response to protests after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis cop, Trump posted the racist phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
But while other social media companies banned Trump permanently after January 6, Facebook chose only to remove his account indefinitely—essentially dangling the possibility of maybe, potentially someday welcoming him back. This, the oversight board claims, was also a violation of Facebook’s own (apparently extremely selectively enforced) rules.
“It was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension,” the board’s statement reads. “Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.”
The board, which was launched 1 year ago and consists of 20 law and human rights specialists, gave Facebook six months to either ban Trump permanently or reinstate his account.
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.
— Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) May 5, 2021
In a lengthy Twitter thread, the oversight board urged Facebook to apply its own standards fairly, and prioritize harm prevention over newsworthiness. “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.”
It also echoed calls from, well, just about everyone, for the company to review its own role in contributing to the false narrative of election fraud and political polarization by allowing misinformation to proliferate on its platform.
Basically, Mark Zuckerberg and co. need to get their act together! But we knew that already.
