Facebook Referred Trump’s Suspension to the Oversight Board

Facebook Referred Trump’s Suspension to the Oversight Board
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Facebook is referring its decision to indefinitely suspend former US President Donald Trump’s access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts to the independent Oversight Board. The board was established in 2020 to make the final call on some of the most difficult content decisions the company makes.

It is an independent body and its decisions are binding. They can’t be overruled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg or anyone else at Facebook. The board itself is made up of experts and civic leaders from around the world with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. Facebook said in a blog spot that the company believes the decision was necessary and right.

"Given its significance, we think it is important for the board to review it and reach an independent judgment on whether it should be upheld. While we await the board’s decision, Mr. Trump’s access will remain suspended indefinitely. We look forward to receiving the board’s decision and we hope, given the clear justification for our actions on January 7, that it will uphold the choices we made," Facebook wrote.

The company said that their decision to suspend then-President Trump’s access was taken in extraordinary circumstances. In making the decision, Facebook's priority was to assist in the peaceful transfer of power. "This is why, when announcing the suspension on January 7, we said it would be indefinite and for at least two weeks. We are referring it to the Oversight Board now that the inauguration has taken place," Facebook claims.

"We have taken the view that in open democracies people have a right to hear what their politicians are saying, the good, the bad and the ugly, so that they can be held to account. But it has never meant that politicians can say whatever they like. They remain subject to our policies banning the use of our platform to incite violence. It is these policies that were enforced when we took the decision to suspend President Trump’s access," the social network added.