No one should be surprised that Facebook’s “Oversight Board” has upheld the suspension of Donald Trump from the platform, though giving Facebook six months to figure out a non-premanent remedy.
I warned about this Oversight Board a year ago, on May 25, 2020, Facebook creates unaccountable international Board to decide which content gets censored:
Anti-conservative bias by the social media giants which dominate our means of political communication has been a topic we’ve covered for many years….There has been a potentially more damaging development at Facebook, the creation of an independent Oversight Board consisting initially of 20 people from around the world to make decisions on what content should be banned….One of the Americans appointed is law professor Pamela Karlin, who testified in favor of impeaching Donald Trump in a moment that went viral.What’s particularly freightening is not the people involved — assume the first 20 individuals are taking on the assignment in good faith — it’s the concept of outsourcing censorhip decisions that will limit American political speech to a board which, by Facebook’s own description, answers to no one other than the Board itself….The “Purpose” of the Board, according to Facebook, is to promote free speech, but in fact, the decisions it makes will not promote free speech, but determine which of that free speech should be restricted….What could go wrong? Everything.Four of the initial Oversight Board members wrote an Op-Ed in The New York Times explaining this new venture (emphasis added): ***Notice the focus on “hate speech”? This sounds all too familiar to those of us on campuses who have faced the false accusation that our differing views are “hate speech.” While the First Amendment doesn’t strictly apply to private platforms, we expect that the principles of the First Amendment will apply at least generally on platforms that purport to be places for widespread public communication.
True to expectations, the Oversight Board has upheld Facebooks Trump ban, though saying it can’t go on forever:
The Board has upheld Facebook’s decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account.
However, it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.
The Board insists that Facebook review this matter to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform. Facebook must complete its review of this matter within six months of the date of this decision. The Board also made policy recommendations for Facebook to implement in developing clear, necessary, and proportionate policies that promote public safety and respect freedom of expression.
A completely unaccountable international board governing our political speech. It would be like handing over our rights to the U.N.
You can view your masters here.
Folks, this is all about 2024
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