Facebook Supervisory Board: Trump blockade is justified, decision must be clearer

Facebook has rightly blocked former US President Donald Trump, the Facebook Oversight Board concludes. However, the company has acted wrong by blocking Trump’s accounts “indefinitely” and needs to make a clearer decision.

Facebook must make a clear judgment about the duration of Trump’s blockade within six months. The Facebook Oversight Board has criticized the indefinite blockade that Facebook introduced, as there is no such penalty under the social network’s guidelines. Normal penalties include removing the offending content, imposing a time-limited suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.

After Trump blocked, Facebook asked its own supervisory board whether the decision was justified and whether it should be upheld. The Oversight Board argues that Facebook is thus avoiding its responsibilities and refuses to answer.

The council wants Facebook to reassess the case and make its own judgment that is in line with the rules. Facebook will therefore have to decide for itself whether the blocking of Trump’s account is permanent. The Supervisory Board has also made recommendations to implement clearer policy. According to the council, Facebook cannot afford to block a user for an indefinite period without knowing criteria about when that block can be lifted.

The decision to block Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts went according to the rules, according to the supervisory board. The Oversight Board finds that two posts by Trump on Jan. 6 violate the Facebook Community Standards and the Instagram Community Guidelines.

These are posts in which Trump said in response to the violent storming of the US Capitol: “We love you. You’re very special” and “great patriots” and “remember this day forever”. The oversight council also says that by persisting an unfounded narrative about electoral fraud, Trump created an environment that posed a serious risk of violence.