By Jeff Parrott – Nearly four months after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and former President Donald Trump’s indefinite ban from Facebook, the social media giant’s oversight board is prepared to announce if Trump will be allowed back on its platform.
On Wednesday, Facebook’s Oversight Board is expected to say if it upholds the ban on the former president’s — and potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate’s — account, or if it will allow Trump back on Facebook, The Hill reported.
Facebook’s Oversight Board includes “19 lawyers, scholars, activists and journalists from around the world,” according to Politico.
“More than half of the members of the oversight board have experience serving as lawyers, judges, politicians or studying law, and they have spent years arguing about the limits of free speech in courtrooms or in the political arena,” Politico reported.
According to the board, the decision making process begins with selecting cases that “are of critical importance to public discourse, and/or raise important questions about Facebook’s policies” — not dissimilar to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Next, a “diverse, five-member panel” investigates if content in the case broke Facebook’s established standards and values. This investigation includes input from the Facebook user, Facebook itself, and comments from outside experts and the public.
Once the panel reaches a draft decision, the oversight board votes, requiring a majority to reach a conclusion. That decision is then published by the oversight board.
“Facebook must implement decisions within seven days, and respond publicly to recommendations within 30 days,” according to the board.
The Hill reported that the board’s decision could serve as a precedent for other social media platforms weighing whether to allow Trump on their platforms.
YouTube — who also banned Trump after the Capitol riot for “violating policing against inciting violence” — has said it would lift the former president’s suspicion once “the risk of real-world violence has decreased,” according to Reuters.
“TikTok removed videos of Trump speaking to supporters after Jan. 6 but could change that policy moving forward. Twitch suspended the former president’s account “indefinitely,” leaving the door open to his eventual reinstatement,” The Hill reported