By Natalie DeCoste
The independent board that oversees Facebook’s definitively decided to uphold the company’s January decision to suspend the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former President Donald Trump. The suspension of President Trump’s accounts was related to his activity on Jan. 6, 2021, during the counting of the 2020 electoral votes and the Capitol riot.
“The Board found that, 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. 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. As president, Mr. Trump had a high level of influence. The reach of his posts was large, with 35 million followers on Facebook and 24 million on Instagram,” read the oversight board’s decision.
The board determined that two posts by President Trump severely violated Facebook’s Community Standards and Instagram’s Community Guidelines. Specifically, Facebook’s rules prohibiting the praise or support of people engaged in violence.
The oversight board first received the request to review Facebook’s suspension on Jan. 21. Facebook asked the oversight board whether it correctly decided on Jan. 7 to prohibit the former president’s access to posting content on Facebook and Instagram for an indefinite amount of time. The company also requested recommendations about suspensions when the user is a political leader.
While the oversight board upheld the suspension, it did not completely approve of Facebook’s decisions. The board determined that it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose an ‘indefinite suspension on individuals.
“In applying this penalty, Facebook did not follow a clear, published procedure. ‘Indefinite’ suspensions are not described in the company’s content policies. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account,” said the oversight board in its decision.
While Facebook is obligated to create necessary and proportionate penalties that respond to severe violations of its content policies, the oversight board’s role is to ensure the company adheres to those policies. When Facebook imposed a vague and indefinite suspension, it sought to “avoid its responsibilities.”
This means that within six months of this decision, Facebook must reexamine the penalty it imposed on Jan. 7 and decide the appropriate penalty.
“This penalty must be based on the gravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm. It must also be consistent with Facebook’s rules for severe violations, which must, in turn, be clear, necessary, and proportionate,” explained the board.
In response to Facebook’s request for guidance concerning political figures, the board reaffirmed the idea that it is not always helpful to draw a firm distinction between political leaders and other influential users. The board recognizes that other users with large audiences can also contribute to serious risks of harm.
President Trump responded to the decision and asserted a violation of his free speech rights by Facebook.
“What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process,” read President Trump’s statement.
