Donald Trump’s Facebook page (illustration). – M. ALLILI / SIPA
The decision was originally scheduled for mid-April. Facebook’s supervisory board announced on Friday the postponement of its long-awaited decision on the return or indefinite exclusion of Donald Trump from the platform. “The council will announce its decision on the case concerning the suspension of former President of the United States, Donald Trump, from Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson said in an email.
The Republican billionaire was banned from the Californian group’s two networks (and other platforms, including Twitter) after the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill. He has been criticized for his repeated, unfounded allegations of electoral fraud, and his words of encouragement to his hundreds of supporters who violently rushed into the seat of the US Parliament.
(1/2): The Board will announce its decision on the case concerning former US President Trump’s indefinite suspension from Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks. We extended the public comments deadline for this case, receiving 9,000+ responses.
– Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) April 16, 2021
Numerous public contributions received
The “supreme” body of the social networking giant, made up of personalities from different countries from civil society, examines and decides the disputed decisions to withdraw or maintain content deemed problematic on Facebook or Instagram. Its judgments are binding on the company.
The council, which took office in early December, agreed on January 21 to take up this burning issue, at the request of Facebook. In the case of Donald Trump, “we have extended the deadline for receiving public notices, and have received over 9,000 responses. The Council wishes to examine them all carefully, hence these additional delays ”, explained the spokesperson.
A decision “taken in extraordinary circumstances”
The social network, often accused of either censorship or lax content moderation, had said it hoped that its brand new council of elders would agree with the controversial measure. It was “taken under extraordinary circumstances: an American president who fosters a violent insurgency to derail the peaceful transition of power; five people killed; legislators fleeing the seat of democracy, ”recalled Nick Clegg, vice-president of the group in charge of communication. “It was an unprecedented series of events that demanded an unprecedented reaction,” he added.
In the United States, the digital ostracization of the former head of state was generally described as regrettable but necessary by civil society and many elected officials. But in Europe, it has also drawn criticism from associations and leaders, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, worried about the power of technology companies over freedom of expression.