OTI Welcomes Oversight Board’s Decision to uphold Trump’s Ban from Facebook’s Platform

Today, Facebook’s Oversight Board announced its final decision to uphold Facebook’s suspension of former President Trump while ordering the company to conduct a review within six months of its policies around proportionate penalties and paths to restoration. OTI applauds the Board’s decision to uphold Trump’s ban and require Facebook to create clear and consistent content moderation policies going forward.

OTI reviewed Trump’s use of social media to incite the violent mob—and his continual efforts to encourage their actions—when he was first deplatformed, and supported the decision in light of Facebook’s clear content moderation policies prohibiting this behavior. Since then, Trump has continued to propagate a false and dangerous narrative that the last presidential election was stolen.

The following quote can be attributed to Sarah Morris, director of New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“The Board made the right decision in this case, both in upholding the ban on the former president and in requiring Facebook to publish criteria for when or whether a suspended account will be restored. Every Facebook user will benefit from clear policies that govern not only content, but also potential penalties and avenues of recourse.

“Today’s decision affirms that Facebook failed to take responsibility in creating coherent and broadly applicable rules around user content moderation. The company cannot rely on other entities to do the hard work for them. Oversight theater only protects Facebook from criticism; internet users deserve clear policies and swift action when those policies are violated.

“Facebook has long failed to meaningfully and consistently moderate content, and the company has been particularly inconsistent in the case of the former president. Its decision to indefinitely suspend former President Trump’s account is an example of this inconsistency, as indefinite suspension is not an enforcement action defined within Facebook’s policies. Moreover, before creating and spreading misinformation around a stolen election and supporting a violent riot, the former president’s posts contributed to racial tension, xenophobia, and encouragement for hate groups. Yet Facebook failed to ever take action in response to those posts.

“Platforms should continue to improve accountability, transparency, and consistency across their content moderation policies, but policymakers should also take clear steps through regulation and antitrust enforcement to rein in the business model that allows social media companies to profit off of the violent and hateful rhetoric posted on those platforms. OTI has called for policymakers to enact rules that require greater transparency from platforms around their content moderation and algorithmic curation and advertising efforts, enact strong and comprehensive data privacy regulations, and leverage antitrust and competition policy to mitigate user harms. We will continue to advocate for policies that lead to a safe, accountable internet that fosters free expression.”