Oversight Board upholds Donald Trump’s suspension from Facebook and Instagram

Social media giant Facebook’s Oversight Board has upheld Facebook’s January 7 decision to suspend former US president Donald Trump from Facebook and Instagram.

Announcing its decision on Wednesday, the board said Trump’s posts severely violated Facebook’s rules and that the company failed to impose a proper penalty.

According to the board, Trump’s words of support for those involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol building ‘legitimized’ violence in a situation where there was an immediate risk to people’s lives. But, instead of applying one of its established account-level penalties for severe violations, Facebook devised an ‘indefinite’ suspension which is not included in the company’s content policies. The board said the arbitrary penalty gave Facebook total discretion over whether to lift or maintain the suspension, with no criteria that can be scrutinized by users or external observers.