Facebook is referring its decision to indefinitely suspend Trump's accounts to the Oversight Board and says the accounts will remain suspended in the meantime
but I love what they are doing with their Oversight Board (even if it's a CYA move & 10 years too late). https://twitter.com/... Brooke Binkowski / @brooklynmarie : Just in time for the 2016, I mean 2018, I mean 2020, I mean 2022 elections! https://twitter.com/... @queenoliviastr : It was established to absolve Mark Zuckerberg of personal responsibly. https://twitter.com/... Ricky Davila / @therickydavila : He incited insurrection against the United StatesCapitol and kept on using social media platforms to help radicalize terrorists. I don't think it's that hard of a call. 🤔 https://twitter.com/... Martyn McLaughlin / @martynmcl : There's impressive folk on the FB oversight board, but regardless of whether it bans Trump indefinitely, it can't stem the tide of hate he's orchestrated. The problem lies deep in FB's algorithms, architecture & AI-driven systems. Solving it requires systemic change, not arbiters https://twitter.com/... Jonathan Greenblatt / @jgreenblattadl : Donald Trump's social media activity fueled violence & hate. We will continue to advocate for Facebook to #BanTrumpSaveDemocracy, as Facebook's Oversight Board considers this case. How FB responds will be indicative of their willingness to be accountable. https://oversightboard.com/... Dr. Siva Vaidhyanathan / @sivavaid : Just a reminder that the Board can only review decisions Facebook already made to remove an account or item. It can't make Facebook conform to its own policies. This is not very useful in the real world. Then again, the board was never created to help the real world. https://twitter.com/... Emily Bell / @emilybell : Seems odd you would need this reviewing - but interested to read the rationale when the decision is upheld. Hopefully the FBOB will extend their insight into how Facebook interacts with political leaders globally - and reflect on why more power should = more restraint https://twitter.com/... Alan Rusbridger / @arusbridger : Public views welcome (see thread)... https://twitter.com/... Oversight Board / @oversightboard : The Board's decision on this case will be binding on Facebook and determine whether Mr. Trump's indefinite suspension from access to Facebook and Instagram is overturned. Facebook has committed not to restore access to its platforms unless directed by a decision of the Board. 2/5 Nic Carter / @nic__carter : So Facebook and soon all other social media companies will rush to codify their ToS enforcement and add structure and transparency. Too late! The user owned internet will win. https://twitter.com/... Carole Cadwalladr / @carolecadwalla : Facebook has got so very brave now Biden is power. This is big deal. But ‘independent’?? The individuals may be, but they've all been hand-picked by Facebook & are circumscribed by terms set by Facebook is. Also: wtf? ‘Hope & expect’?!? Isn't that up to the ‘independent’ board? https://twitter.com/... Will Oremus / @willoremus : Some thoughts on Oversight Board taking up Trump ban from the lone researcher who was allowed by Facebook to sit in on the board's establishment 👇https://twitter.com/ ... Dave Troy / @davetroy : Wherein fake governance is asked to weigh in on a pretend President. The world is quantifiably a better place without his spew on social media. Let's start with that observation. https://twitter.com/... Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers : Great thread here on the implications of the Facebook / Oversight Board Trump decision >> https://twitter.com/... Will Oremus / @willoremus : If Facebook's oversight board ends up reinstating Trump, I wouldn't be surprised to see some other (non-Facebook-owned) platforms follow suit. Will Oremus / @willoremus : Facebook's oversight board has a lot of limitations, but the fact that it will make a binding decision on the Trump ban (and likely set precedent for similar decisions in the future and other countries) at least rebuts the notion that it's irrelevant or just for show. https://twitter.com/... John Battelle / @johnbattelle : Well they picked a good one to start with. https://about.fb.com/... Alex Howard / @digiphile : So... @finkd is suggesting that he, @sherylsandberg & @Facebook shouldn't make calls on suspending world leaders who incite violence or glorifying it on their platform, but @OversightBoard? Will we seeing national justice ministers presenting arguments vs bans before it soon? https://twitter.com/... Corey Friedman / @coreywrites : Apparently there's an obscure panel with final decision-making authority that functions like the Supreme Court of Facebook. (Hey, @OversightBoard, can I appeal my lack of a verification badge?) https://twitter.com/... Eriq Gardner / @eriqgardner : Now that I've just learned that Denmark's former Prime Minister is on this “Supreme Court of Facebook,” I've got ideas about the fourth season of Borgen. https://twitter.com/... Kevin Roose / @kevinroose : FWIW I mostly agree with @Klonick (who knows this stuff better than anyone) on the merits. I also think we should understand that nothing legally prevents FB from ignoring the Board's decisions and doing whatever it wants. https://twitter.com/... Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix : Donald Trump now faces two tribunals in the weeks ahead, both of which are about whether to permanently ban him from participation in the public sphere: The Senate will decide whether to convict him and disqualify him from future office; Facebook whether to permanently ban him. https://twitter.com/... Nancy Scola / @nancyscola : One wrinkle here: Facebook's Oversight Board is based in London — critical distance from U.S. politics for fans of this approach, and fodder for those who wonder why these decisions are being outsourced. https://twitter.com/... Ed Zitron / @edzitron : I am going to run an independent investigation of myself that may unwrite the decision that I myself made based on some facts presented by me to myself https://twitter.com/... Casey Newton / @caseynewton : An extremely amusing development that will come later in this case is that Trump is allowed to submit a statement about why he should be able to use Facebook again. Will he???? Kevin Roose / @kevinroose : Sure are a lot of people taking Facebook's word that the Oversight Board is fully independent, and that its decisions are actually binding! https://about.fb.com/... Kate Klonick / @klonick : Whenever it comes, the outcome—reinstating Trump or not!—will have incredibly polarizing reactions. But setting that aside, I'm fascinated to see what the Board decides, and how they get to that decision — because that is really what this new governance regime is about: 6/ Kate Klonick / @klonick : Since Trump was suspended, people have called on FB to send this to the Board — this was, after all, almost exactly what the Board was created to do! To create more transparency and process around globally significant freedom of expression decisions! 2/ Jordan / @jordanuhl : now that we've raked in every last dollar from his campaign, in all millions and millions of dollars, we have decided to suspend him from our platform https://twitter.com/... Andy Stone / @andymstone : To be clear: 1. Nothing about today's referral reinstates the former president's access to his Facebook or Instagram accounts 2. We believe our decision was necessary and right. We hope and expect the Oversight Board will agree. https://twitter.com/... Giovanni Gallucci / @aka_at_giovanni : @fbnewsroom @OversightBoard The foxes think their decision to eat the chickens they were guarding was right, but they don't think they should make these calls on their own. Given the significance, they referred this decision to the wolves. During review, Foxes will continue to eat the chickens. @rmac18 : We are referring the barn door matter to the locksmith as we search for the horse https://twitter.com/... Jay Yarow / @jyarow : Pretty brilliant punt. https://twitter.com/... Nick Clegg / @nick_clegg : The @OversightBoard is the first of its kind: an expert-led independent organisation with the power to impose binding decisions on a private social media company. We welcome any wider observations/recommendations they have around suspensions when the user is a political leader. Nick Clegg / @nick_clegg : The @OversightBoard was established last year to make the final call on some of the most difficult content decisions Facebook makes. It is an independent body and its decisions are binding - they can't be overruled by anyone at Facebook. Nick Clegg / @nick_clegg : Facebook is referring our decision to indefinitely suspend former President Trump's Facebook & Instagram accounts to the independent @OversightBoard. Today's announcement does not reinstate his access. We hope & expect the board will confirm our decision. https://about.fb.com/... Fabio Chiusi / @fabiochiusi : “It would be better if these decisions were made according to frameworks agreed by democratically accountable lawmakers. But in the absence of such laws, there are decisions that we cannot duck” https://twitter.com/... Cecilia Kang / @ceciliakang : this is one way to not have to make the final decision, after making an initial decision https://twitter.com/... Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp : This was expected. A way of deflecting blowback from Trump supporters > Facebook refers Trump ban to independent Oversight Board for review https://www.axios.com/... Lance Ulanoff / @lanceulanoff : Interesting. First really big test for the Facebook Oversight Board. https://twitter.com/... Hannah Murphy / @mshannahmurphy : BREAKING: Facebook is referring its decision to suspend Trump's account to its new independent oversight board for review Any decisions made by the board - made up of academics, civil rights groups and experts across the political spectrum - are binding https://about.fb.com/... Rory Cellan-Jones / @ruskin147 : Facebook seeks ruling on its suspension of Donald Trump from its “Supreme Court”. https://about.fb.com/... Myles Udland / @mylesudland : These statements are always funnier when you're reminded that Nick Clegg is in charge of comms for Facebook https://about.fb.com/... Casey Newton / @caseynewton : Should Trump be allowed to use Facebook? Sound off in the comments!! https://twitter.com/... Evelyn Douek / @evelyndouek : And the Oversight Board accepts. Let's gooooooo https://twitter.com/... Shannon Bond / @shannonpareil : Biggest and most visible test of Facebook's new oversight board - whose decisions are binding https://twitter.com/... Tony Romm / @tonyromm : huge early test for the new facebook supreme court https://twitter.com/... Casey Newton / @caseynewton : The decision of whether Trump returns to Facebook will not be made by Facebook. Instead, it will be left to an international board — and the decision will be binding. It's a new era. Sara Fischer / @sarafischer : #BREAKING: @Facebook referring its indefinite ban on Trump to independent Oversight Board for review — “We believe our decision was necessary and right”- Nick Clegg — Trump's access remains indefinitely suspended until Board's decision Full story on @axios https://www.axios.com/...
About FacebookNick Clegg
Context & Ripple Effects
Facebook moved a politically consequential account restriction into a review process that legal analysts had argued should hear the case, despite the board's usual focus on individual content decisions. That makes the case a test of whether the board can adjudicate account-level penalties as well as takedowns.
The subsequent record shows the board [[a:965966|upheld the suspension but required Facebook to set a rules-consistent penalty within six months]], turning a temporary referral into a constraint on how Facebook must justify the account's status.
First-order effects
Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts remain unavailable while the Oversight Board reviews Facebook's indefinite suspension.
Facebook shifts the immediate reinstatement decision to a body whose rulings bind the company, while retaining responsibility for enforcing the suspension in the interim.
Second-order effects
The board's eventual requirement for a rules-consistent penalty forces Facebook to translate an indefinite restriction into a defined enforcement decision rather than leave the account in open-ended limbo.
The review broadens the Oversight Board's practical role from judging individual posts to scrutinizing platform-wide account sanctions, creating a governance channel for similarly exceptional cases.
Third-order effects
If Facebook continues routing exceptional account actions through the board, account governance becomes more formalized: major restrictions require externally reviewable rules and penalties rather than solely executive discretion.
The case points to platform trust infrastructure in which independent review bodies shape enforcement legitimacy, even when the platform still controls day-to-day moderation.
The trend: Large platforms are moving high-profile account enforcement toward rule-bound, externally reviewable governance rather than indefinite ad hoc decisions.
We think our decision to suspend former President Trump was right, but we don't think we should make these calls on our own. Given the significance, we referred this decision to the @OversightBoard. During review, Mr. Trump's access will remain suspended. https://about.fb.com/...
The Oversight Board has accepted a case from Facebook to examine their decision to indefinitely suspend former US President Donald Trump from access to Facebook and Instagram. 1/5 https://oversightboard.com/...
This is the moment. Facebook has referred Trump's suspension to the @OversightBoard, an independent global body of freedom of expression experts and will abide by their decision. I've been inside FB following the creation of this Board for the last 2 years. Some thoughts: 1/ http…
There was a damned if you do, damned if you don't question about sending it, however. On the one hand, it divests a huge amount of power from FB to give the Board authority over this. On the other hand, maybe the Board is too nascent to take on such an enormous question. 3/
The Board's decision on this case will be binding on Facebook and determine whether Mr. Trump's indefinite suspension from access to Facebook and Instagram is overturned. Facebook has committed not to restore access to its platforms unless directed by a decision of the Board. 2/5
Just a reminder that the Board can only review decisions Facebook already made to remove an account or item. It can't make Facebook conform to its own policies. This is not very useful in the real world. Then again, the board was never created to help the real world. https://twit…
Facebook employees hate Trump and he is toxic to everything he touches. The company would surely love him off the platform, but they also don't want to ban him. So what's their best outcome? Maybe the Oversight Board can ban him. https://www.wired.com/...
Facebook's track record is horrible & I don't trust them—but I love what they are doing with their Oversight Board (even if it's a CYA move & 10 years too late). https://twitter.com/...
Seems odd you would need this reviewing - but interested to read the rationale when the decision is upheld. Hopefully the FBOB will extend their insight into how Facebook interacts with political leaders globally - and reflect on why more power should = more restraint https://twi…
He incited insurrection against the United States Capitol and kept on using social media platforms to help radicalize terrorists. I don't think it's that hard of a call. 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
There's impressive folk on the FB oversight board, but regardless of whether it bans Trump indefinitely, it can't stem the tide of hate he's orchestrated. The problem lies deep in FB's algorithms, architecture & AI-driven systems. Solving it requires systemic change, not arbiters…
Donald Trump's social media activity fueled violence & hate. We will continue to advocate for Facebook to #BanTrumpSaveDemocracy, as Facebook's Oversight Board considers this case. How FB responds will be indicative of their willingness to be accountable. https://oversightboard.c…
So Facebook and soon all other social media companies will rush to codify their ToS enforcement and add structure and transparency. Too late! The user owned internet will win. https://twitter.com/...
Facebook has got so very brave now Biden is power. This is big deal. But ‘independent’?? The individuals may be, but they've all been hand-picked by Facebook & are circumscribed by terms set by Facebook is. Also: wtf? ‘Hope & expect’?!? Isn't that up to the ‘independent’ board? h…
Some thoughts on Oversight Board taking up Trump ban from the lone researcher who was allowed by Facebook to sit in on the board's establishment 👇https://twitter.com/ ...
Wherein fake governance is asked to weigh in on a pretend President. The world is quantifiably a better place without his spew on social media. Let's start with that observation. https://twitter.com/...
Facebook's oversight board has a lot of limitations, but the fact that it will make a binding decision on the Trump ban (and likely set precedent for similar decisions in the future and other countries) at least rebuts the notion that it's irrelevant or just for show. https://twi…
So... @finkd is suggesting that he, @sherylsandberg & @Facebook shouldn't make calls on suspending world leaders who incite violence or glorifying it on their platform, but @OversightBoard? Will we seeing national justice ministers presenting arguments vs bans before it soon? htt…
Apparently there's an obscure panel with final decision-making authority that functions like the Supreme Court of Facebook. (Hey, @OversightBoard, can I appeal my lack of a verification badge?) https://twitter.com/...
Now that I've just learned that Denmark's former Prime Minister is on this “Supreme Court of Facebook,” I've got ideas about the fourth season of Borgen. https://twitter.com/...
FWIW I mostly agree with @Klonick (who knows this stuff better than anyone) on the merits. I also think we should understand that nothing legally prevents FB from ignoring the Board's decisions and doing whatever it wants. https://twitter.com/...
Donald Trump now faces two tribunals in the weeks ahead, both of which are about whether to permanently ban him from participation in the public sphere: The Senate will decide whether to convict him and disqualify him from future office; Facebook whether to permanently ban him. h…
One wrinkle here: Facebook's Oversight Board is based in London — critical distance from U.S. politics for fans of this approach, and fodder for those who wonder why these decisions are being outsourced. https://twitter.com/...
I am going to run an independent investigation of myself that may unwrite the decision that I myself made based on some facts presented by me to myself https://twitter.com/...
An extremely amusing development that will come later in this case is that Trump is allowed to submit a statement about why he should be able to use Facebook again. Will he????
Sure are a lot of people taking Facebook's word that the Oversight Board is fully independent, and that its decisions are actually binding! https://about.fb.com/...
Whenever it comes, the outcome—reinstating Trump or not!—will have incredibly polarizing reactions. But setting that aside, I'm fascinated to see what the Board decides, and how they get to that decision — because that is really what this new governance regime is about: 6/
Since Trump was suspended, people have called on FB to send this to the Board — this was, after all, almost exactly what the Board was created to do! To create more transparency and process around globally significant freedom of expression decisions! 2/
now that we've raked in every last dollar from his campaign, in all millions and millions of dollars, we have decided to suspend him from our platform https://twitter.com/...
To be clear: 1. Nothing about today's referral reinstates the former president's access to his Facebook or Instagram accounts 2. We believe our decision was necessary and right. We hope and expect the Oversight Board will agree. https://twitter.com/...
@fbnewsroom @OversightBoard The foxes think their decision to eat the chickens they were guarding was right, but they don't think they should make these calls on their own. Given the significance, they referred this decision to the wolves. During review, Foxes will continue to ea…
The @OversightBoard is the first of its kind: an expert-led independent organisation with the power to impose binding decisions on a private social media company. We welcome any wider observations/recommendations they have around suspensions when the user is a political leader.
The @OversightBoard was established last year to make the final call on some of the most difficult content decisions Facebook makes. It is an independent body and its decisions are binding - they can't be overruled by anyone at Facebook.
Facebook is referring our decision to indefinitely suspend former President Trump's Facebook & Instagram accounts to the independent @OversightBoard. Today's announcement does not reinstate his access. We hope & expect the board will confirm our decision. https://about.fb.com/...
“It would be better if these decisions were made according to frameworks agreed by democratically accountable lawmakers. But in the absence of such laws, there are decisions that we cannot duck” https://twitter.com/...
This was expected. A way of deflecting blowback from Trump supporters > Facebook refers Trump ban to independent Oversight Board for review https://www.axios.com/...
BREAKING: Facebook is referring its decision to suspend Trump's account to its new independent oversight board for review Any decisions made by the board - made up of academics, civil rights groups and experts across the political spectrum - are binding https://about.fb.com/...
The decision of whether Trump returns to Facebook will not be made by Facebook. Instead, it will be left to an international board — and the decision will be binding. It's a new era.
#BREAKING: @Facebook referring its indefinite ban on Trump to independent Oversight Board for review — “We believe our decision was necessary and right”- Nick Clegg — Trump's access remains indefinitely suspended until Board's decision Full story on @axios https://www.axios.com/.…
I actually think this will be the Oversight Board's Marbury v Madison moment — meaning, even if they uphold the decision to suspend, the way they handle the case, decide on their jurisdiction, and consider the breadth of the issue presented will be important going forward. https:…
@persily A key question for me is whether the board establishes some kind of precedent that can relied upon by other world leaders (and their beleaguered citizens) or if the outcome is narrowly targeted just at Trump. Not that useful if the latter.
“The board's policy guidance, if taken seriously by Facebook, could have dramatic consequences for politics and societies from the Philippines to Brazil to Ethiopia and beyond” — @evelyndouek https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Super speedy and thoughtful piece from @evelyndouek on the significance of @Facebook decision to refer the suspension of the Trump account to @OversightBoard - mention of “global ripple effects” especially significant https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
“Like Schrödinger's cat, it's still unclear if the Oversight Board is dead or alive”. Always worth reading @evelyndouek who has followed the [other] @OversightBoard closer than most https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Basically a 20-member group of the unelected, who were selected by the corporate unelected, will decide whether the democratically elected can talk directly to constituents on a major Internet platform. TBD in a quasi-public, extra-judicial process🤔A smart, helpful dive here: ↘️ …
Here's a sharp, clear explainer on what it means for FB's Oversight Board to review the Trump ban; which parts will be binding (or at least “binding") and which not; and why it all matters—from one of the outside experts who has followed this most closely. https://www.lawfareblog…
.@evelyndouek argued last week that Facebook should make this referral. Read her take @lawfareblog on what comes next: https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...