“In a statement, Trump claimed that Facebook and other tech companies had infringed on his free speech rights by banning him from their sites.”
The indefinite suspension of former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, according to Facebook’s independent monitoring board, “was not acceptable.” The board effectively deferred to Facebook the decision on the length of the suspension, stating that it “insists” that the corporation “examine this incident to decide and justify a proportionate reaction that is consistent with the regulations that apply to other users of its platform.”
The board requested that Facebook complete the review within six months and offered advice on how to set clear policies that strike a balance between public safety and freedom of expression.“We will now consider the board’s decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate,” Facebook said in a blog post following the announcement. “In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s accounts remain suspended.”
In a statement, Trump claimed that Facebook and other tech companies had infringed on his free speech rights by banning him from their sites. In addition, his statement also incorrectly implied that he won the election. “What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country,” Trump’s statement said. “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.”
At the time of the suspension, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a post that “the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.” The company later referred the case to its recently established board, which includes academics, lawyers, and rights activists, to decide whether to uphold the ban or restore Mr. Trump’s accounts. The binding verdict marks a major decision for the board, which rules on a small slice of challenging content decisions and which Facebook created as an independent body as a response to criticism over how it handles problematic material.
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