facebook oversight trump boarddoueklawfare

“Facebook cannot make up the rules as it goes, and anyone concerned about its power should be concerned about allowing this,” the board wrote. But, the independent board said in its highly-anticipated verdict, Facebook improperly imposed an “indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension” against Trump and should review the matter “within six months of the date of this decision,” essentially punting the decision to keep him off permanently back to Zuckerberg. The company’s Oversight Board on Wednesday announced that Mark Zuckerberg was within his rights to suspend the former president’s account earlier this year, and may be able to continue banning him. The preceding story was brought to you courtesy of The Epoch Times Click the link to visit their page and see more stories.Facebook can keep Donald Trump off its platform-for now. But it currently does not allow people to post comments or other feedback, making it more like a blog. The Twitter-like page features missives and videos from the Republican. On Tuesday, the former president launched a new communications platform.

Trump has derided the Big Tech actions as censorship, noting that the platforms have banned a number of conservatives. Google’s YouTube suspended him that same month, but has kept open the possibility of allowing him to regain access. The following month, a top official saidthe ban was permanent. “Facebook will implement the board’s decisions unless doing so could violate the law, and will respond constructively and in good faith to policy guidance put forth by the board,” Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs and communications for the California-based technology giant, said in a statement last year.Ĭlegg said in January that Facebook hoped the board would uphold its suspension of Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram, which the tech giant owns. The board has broad powers and can overrule Facebook, essentially serving as a court. The Facebook Oversight Board was established last year. Their decision needed to be signed off by a majority of the board. No one company should have the power to effectively block a president from communicating with the American people,” he said in a statement.įive members of the board reviewed the case. “Facebook is essentially acting as prosecutor, defender, judge, jury, appellate court and executioner. Mike Davis, founder and president of the Internet Accountability Project, a conservative nonprofit that seeks to hold Big Tech accountable, said the board decision was not surprising. There must be accountability for the insurrectionists and those who continue to push the Big Lie,” Rep. “The Facebook Oversight Board’s decision is a small act of accountability, but this cannot be where it ends. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “I support the FB Oversight Board’s nuanced decision to uphold the suspension which is consistent with the principles I have articulated to balance ethical community standards with user speech,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.).īut Democrats said they agreed with the decision. The American people should fear any company that sees itself as so powerful it establishes a biased, quasi-judicial entity to adjudicate our First Amendment rights,” added Rep. “Facebook made an arbitrary decision based on its political preferences and the Oversight Board, organized and funded by Facebook, re-affirmed its decision. Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday called the board’s decision “pathetic.” Republican lawmakers had urged the board to overturn Facebook’s suspension, while Democrats largely declined to weigh in on the issue or endorsed the ban. 21, when Facebook referred the ban to its board, but board members wanted more time to mull their choice, given the 9,000+ public comments they received. The board’s decision was supposed to come within 90 days of Jan. CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that there were risks in letting Trump continue posting on the platform in the wake of the Jan. Facebook suspended Trump in early January, while he was still president.

Facebook oversight trump boarddoueklawfare