Trump has been banned from Facebook since January, but now the social media giant’s ‘independent oversight board’ is looking into to the issue and deciding whether or not the ban should be permanent.
This is especially important as we look ahead to the 2024 election.
Sara Fischer reports at Axios:
World leaders brace for historic Trump Facebook ban decisionThe upcoming decision from Facebook’s independent Oversight Board on whether to uphold or reverse Facebook’s indefinite suspension of former President Trump’s profiles has policymakers on edge.Why it matters: The decision will set a historic precedent for how the tech giant treats accounts of world leaders, and could be a litmus test for the board’s power.Context:- Facebook helped establish the Oversight Board with $130 million in funding in 2019 to review user appeals of Facebook’s content moderation choices.- Its independence has been questioned by Facebook critics, but its first few case decisions this year suggest the board isn’t afraid to disagree with Facebook, and it tends to err on the side of free speech.- Trump was the only case in which Facebook has indefinitely suspended a sitting head of state, but the company has begun taking action on other world leaders’ accounts. It froze Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s page for 30 days in March for violating Facebook’s policies against spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
Ace of Spades suggests this is basically Facebook deciding whether or not Trump is allowed to run for president and points out some inconsistencies:
Maxine Waters and LeBron James have received no penalty from FaceBook or any other social media monopoly.Note that the broadcast media are required to accept political ads for the best available price, as a precondition for using that which they are not entitled to (the public airwaves).There is absolutely no reason that Congress cannot pass laws requiring that monopolies act with similar fairness to all sides in political matters, to keep an immunity to lawsuit (section 230) that they are by no means entitled to.
Expect to see major pressure from the left on Facebook not to reverse the ban.
If Trump runs for president again in 2024, he would need access to social media platforms. The left will do anything to keep that from happening.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY