Facebook Oversight Board has delayed its decision regarding former US President Donald Trumps Facebook and Instagram return.
Mr. Trump was banned from Facebook in January after the Capitol Hill riots.
The Facebook oversight committee said the Trumps Facebook ban decision was delayed due to the time it has taken to review over 9,000 public responses to cases.
A decision was originally due by 21 April. In a statement on Twitter, the Board said it would make a decision “in the coming weeks”.
The ruling on the Trumps Facebook ban will be the biggest decision the Oversight Board Facebook has had to make since it started taking on cases last year.
The Board was set up to rule on difficult or controversial moderation decisions made by Facebook.
The 20-member committee, established by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg, is often referred to as “Facebook Supreme Court”. It operates as an independent entity, although its wages and others costs are covered by the tech company.
The Facebook oversight committee is made up of journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, and academics.
The group has already ruled on nine cases including:
- A comment that seemed derogatory to Muslims – in a post from a user in Myanmar, removed for breaking hate-speech rules – was found not to be Islamophobic, when taken into context
- An alleged quote from Joseph Goebbels – in an old post reshared by a US user, removed for violating policies on dangerous individuals and organizations – did not support Nazi ideology, again when taken in context
- A video about Covid-19 “cures” – referred to the board by Facebook – was a comment about French government health policy and would not lead people to self-medicate
- An Instagram post of eight photographs of breast cancer symptoms should not have been removed – by Facebook’s automated moderation system, only to be restored before the board’s decision – for breaking adult nudity rules.
Big Tech bans Trump
It’s not just Mr. Trumps Facebook account that is banned. Earlier this month Facebook oversight board extended its ban to include the “voice of Trump” after his daughter-in-law and Fox News contributor Laura Trump posted a video of her interviewing the former president.
Several Big Tech platforms took action after the Capitol Hill riots that left five people dead and more than 100 police officers injured. The former president was accused of inciting violence and repeatedly spreading disinformation.
He is suspended on YouTube, but chief executive Susan Wojcicki has said they may lift the ban when the threat of “real-world violence” decreases.
He is permanently banned on Twitter.
According to data from CrowdTangle, some of Mr. Trump’s Facebook posts were among the most popular in the US.
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