Facebook’s Oversight Board Finally Decides On Trump’s Ban

Facebook Inc.’s de facto "Supreme Court" of content has finally announced that former President Donald Trump remained banned from its social media platform.

The Oversight Board validated the ban on Wednesday after the board affirmed that Trump's post on January 6th contributed to the violence of the Capitol Riot. “In maintaining an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr. Trump created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible,” the decision reads. “At the time of Mr. Trump’s posts, there was a clear, immediate risk of harm and his words of support for those involved in the riots legitimized their violent actions.”

The decision argues explicitly against the “World Leader” policy adopted by Twitter, which took a lighter moderation approach to political leaders. Instead, the Oversight Board found that leaders should be held to the same or higher standards.

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“It is not always useful to draw a firm distinction between political leaders and other influential users,” the decision reads. “If a head of state or high government official has repeatedly posted messages that pose a risk of harm under international human rights norms, Facebook should suspend the account for a period sufficient to protect against imminent harm.”

However, the board stated that “it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose” an indefinite suspension on Trump, and calls for a review within the next six months to “determine and justify a corresponding reaction that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform.” That review opens the door to allowing Trump back onto the platform at some point this year but leaves the ultimate decision in Facebook’s hands.

Facebook Vice president of Global Affairs and communication, Nick Clegg issued a statement on Wednesday that Facebook would consider the board’s decision and determine a policy position regarding indefinite bans as requested by the board. “In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s accounts remain suspended,” Clegg said.

The Oversight Board’s decisions are not technically binding, but so far, Facebook has deferred to its judgment on individual appeals. The board made its first decisions in January, asking Facebook to restore four posts originally censored for nudity, hate speech, and COVID-19 misinformation. (It agreed with Facebook on one case, where a user posted a “dehumanizing slur” against Armenians.)

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Facebook also responded favorably to several optional recommendations, agreeing to clarify some policies and test new features. It explicitly disagreed with only one suggestion: loosening its rules against posting pandemic-related false information.

Trump was suspended from Facebook, and forbidden from sharing content with his 35 million followers after his post encouraged a violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol. The ban was extended indefinitely, meaning that Trump's Facebook page has been frozen for more than three months.

The Supreme Court (Oversight Board), is an independent group of lawyers, academics and journalists whose decision in the coming days will determine if Trump will be reinstated on Facebook. The board is a form of checks and balances, challenging its power as the company responsible for policing the world’s speech and holding it accountable when it missteps.

The US remains divided on whether Trump should be allowed back onto social media according to a report issued Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, which saw 49 percent of US adults agree that Trump’s accounts should be permanently banned.