An internal review board at Facebook has upheld the social media giant’s decision to suspend President Donald Trump’s account and extended the ban for another two years, until January 2023.
Last month, Facebook’s Oversight Board upheld the company’s decision to prevent Trump from posting to the social media web site but said the decision to permanently suspend the account as inappropriate. The distinction is really without a difference as Trump’s inability to post to his Facebook and Instagram accounts essentially suspends them.
The social media platform continued denying his free speech day for another two years, saying that “given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension.” Yet businesses that kill babies in abortions and groups and people that promote hate and violence still remain on the platform.
It said the suspension will last “for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7th this year.”
“At the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, said in a statement. “We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.”
After the decision, Trump slammed the liberal Big Tech company.
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“Facebook’s ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75M people, plus many others, who voted for us in the 2020 Rigged Presidential Election. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country can’t take this abuse anymore,” he said.
Facebook initially blocked Trump’s account from posting after a January 6 rally in the nation’s capitol turned violent and a small contingent of Trump supporters rioted at and inside the Capitol. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg then expanded the ban to until January 20th when Trump left office and then referred the ban to the board at that time.
When it originally banned Trump, conservatives did not mince their words in slamming the notoriously liberal Board and Facebook for compromising America’s sacred freedom of speech and at least temporarily upholding the indefinite ban. Media Research Center Founder and President L. Brent Bozell suggested that the ruling could be Facebook’s first foray into meddling with the 2024 Election. Senator Ted Cruz summarized the ruling as “disgraceful.” Turning Point USA Founder and CEO Charlie Kirk suggested, “This is a big tech, corporate oligarchy without standing and it’s gone too far.”
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Bozell painted a grim picture by suggesting that upholding the Trump ban foreshadowed more election meddling, this time for the 2024 election:
“Another win for censorship and the suppression of dissenting voices, and a loss for free speech. Facebook also gets its first opportunity to interfere with the 2024 election.”
Conservative Partner Institute Senior Director of Policy and Free Speech Alliance member Rachel Bovard tweeted that the board’s ruling makes America’s grim circumstances abundantly clear: “Facebook’s bans are completely arbitrary and also that the platform thinks it has the moral responsibility to ban world leaders from its platform if, in Facebook’s determination, the political situation requires it.” Bovard illustrated that the situation is dire when she followed that tweet by explaining: “If you needed any more evidence that Facebook sees itself as more powerful than world governments, here you have it.”
“Disgraceful. For every liberal celebrating Trump’s social media ban, if the Big Tech oligarchs can muzzle the former President, what’s to stop them from silencing you?” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked in a May 5 tweet.
Kirk suggested that the United States Supreme Court should “overturn the Facebook’s ‘Oversight Board’s’ ‘ruling’ which upholds the outlawing of the 45th President of the United States from social media.” Kirk then proclaimed: “This is a big tech, corporate oligarchy without standing and it’s gone too far. Enough is enough.”
“Here’s a real life example of the tyranny of #BigTech,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) tweeted in response to the board’s ruling. “[A] fake @Facebook court decides @Facebook can do whatever @Facebook wants, in this case, suspending Donald Trump w/o process or standards. That’s what monopolies do. Break them up.”
