Facebook Oversight Board rules Trump ban was justified

But bats the final decision on the matter back to Facebook

Facebook's Oversight Board on Wednesday ruled that the company's decision to ban former US president Donald Trump from Facebook and Instagram was justified at the time, although it added that the company was wrong to make the suspension indefinite.

The board described the indefinite suspension decision as "indeterminate and standardless," adding that the correct response needs to be "consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform."

The social media giant has been given six months to reassesses its decision and to determine a "proportionate response" that is applicable to everyone, including ordinary users.

At a press conference, co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt said that it was difficult to find an easy answer to the issue.

She added that the Facebook has been told to be "more transparent" about how it assesses such things, treat all users in the same way, and to refrain from giving arbitrary penalties.

Former federal judge Michael McConnell, co-chair of the Oversight Board, said that "indefinite penalties of this sort do not pass the international or American smell test for clarity, consistency, and transparency".

Facebook's Oversight Board was established in 2020 to take final decisions on some of the most contentious issues. The decisions of the Oversight Board, whose members include former judges, activists and media figures, are binding to all at Facebook, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Responding to the board's decision, Facebook said it would consider the decision and determine a response that is proportionate and clear.

Commenting on the ruling, Trump said that "what Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace" and that the social media firms would "pay a political price" for such decisions.

"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," he added.

In January, Facebook permanently banned Trump from its platforms, after pro-Trump supporters interrupted a joint congressional session being held in the US Capitol building to confirm Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential elections.

After protestors entered the building, Trump posted a video on Facebook and Twitter, repeating claims of voter fraud, and telling supporters "I know your pain. I know you're hurt. But you have to go home now".

While announcing Trump's indefinite suspension on Facebook and Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that "the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great".

Facebook was not the only social media platform to take strict action against Trump following the Capitol Hill violence on January 6th.

Twitter, which initially suspended Trump's account for 24 hours following the violence, announced later that it was permanently banning Trump's account. Twitch, Snapchat and Shopify also announced similar actions against Trump.

After suspending Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, Facebook referred the decision to its independent Oversight Board for review. The company also requested the board to give policy recommendations on account suspensions when the user is a political leader.

Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday launched a new website to publish content "straight from the desk" of the former US president.

Several posts published on the site repeated earlier claims that 2020 presidential election was rigged.

Trump's senior adviser, Jason Miller, who said in March that the new platform would be "big" tweeted on Tuesday that the website was not a social media platform.

"We'll have additional information coming on that front in the very near future," Miller added.