Trump Sent Message to Facebook Oversight Board About His Ban

Last updated on February 27th, 2021 at 03:16 am

Facebook’s Oversight Board has confirmed that it received a statement from former President Donald Trump regarding the case of whether or not to keep the ban against him in place.

“We can confirm that a user statement has been received in the case before the Oversight Board concerning President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts,” a spokesperson said in a statement. 

Facebook requested the board’s “observations or recommendations on suspensions when the user is a political leader,” a sign that the board’s decision on Trump could influence how the platform handles future bans on world leaders.

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Last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Trump had been banned from Facebook and Instagram indefinitely following the Capitol insurrection, which took place after the former president incited his supporters to disrupt the electoral certification of President Joe Biden’s win.

“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” Zuckerberg wrote on January 7, the day after the attack, which left five people, including a Capitol Police officer, dead. “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.”

Trump criticized Facebook and Twitter for removing him from their platforms, accusing the companies of being “divisive.”

“I think that Big Tech is doing a horrible thing for our country and to our country and I believe it’s going to be a catastrophic mistake for them,” Trump told reporters a few days after both bans went into effect.

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.