Facebook Maintains Suspension of Trump Account... Decision on Ban Deferred

Source: WSJ

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Facebook has extended the suspension of former U.S. President Donald Trump's account while postponing the final decision regarding his ban.

On the 5th (local time), according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, Facebook's Oversight Board stated in a press release that "Former President Trump created an environment where serious violence could occur by maintaining baseless claims of election fraud and ongoing calls to action," and announced that the account suspension will be maintained for the time being.

However, the Oversight Board judged that Facebook's original indefinite suspension was inappropriate and deferred the company's final decision on the matter for six months. The board stated, "Within six months, Facebook must review the arbitrary penalty imposed on January 7 and determine an appropriate penalty."

After initially suspending Trump's account, Facebook handed over the final decision to the Oversight Board. Michael McConnell, co-chair of the Oversight Board, said there is a significant possibility that whatever ultimate decision Facebook makes regarding Trump's account will be referred back to the board.

Earlier, Facebook indefinitely suspended former President Trump's account following the Capitol riot on January 6.

At that time, Facebook stated in a statement under the name of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Trump had posted messages on his account inciting rioters to storm the Capitol, and that "we believe the risk of allowing the president to continue using our service is too great."

Former President Trump has been banned not only from Facebook but also permanently suspended from Twitter and other major social media platforms.

With communication channels through major SNS blocked, former President Trump launched a blog called "From the Desk of Donald Trump" on his official website the day before. He has also announced plans to launch his own SNS platform around June or July.

The U.S. political media outlet Politico evaluated, "The new blog will have less influence than Facebook, but it will serve as a channel for former President Trump to directly convey his thoughts to his supporters, albeit in a limited way."