Facebook Oversight Board: No Place For Trump’s Hate And Disinformation On Its Platforms

Brussels, Belgium —Today, May 5, 2021, the Facebook Oversight Board upheld the ‘deplatforming’ of Donald Trump from Facebook and Instagram, finding Facebook’s decision to be necessary and proportionate. Access Now welcomes this decision, but is alarmed by the Facebook Oversight Board’s statement that it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose an indefinite suspension without sufficient clarity in Facebook’s terms and procedures — even with Trump’s history of using the platforms to incite violence and spread disinformation. Facebook should clarify its rules and procedures on this issue immediately.

Access Now deemed Facebook’s decision to suspend Donald Trump’s account in January 2021 a necessary and proportionate response. Under the international human rights framework, incitement to violence and hatred allow for the application of last resort measures to guarantee public safety. As a number of experts note, since the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump spread false theories of voter fraud, and encouraged violent insurrection on January 6, 2021. Such forms of expression are not covered by the right to freedom of expression and opinion. And, the fact these outbursts remained online, proves Facebook’s inability to moderate Trump’s content.

"Access Now supports the Facebook Oversight Board’s decision to keep Trump off its platforms. Power and privilege cannot buy you free rein to attack democratic discourse — in this case, spreading dangerous disinformation and inciting violence," said Eliska Pirkova, Europe Policy Analyst at Access Now. "However, it is unclear whether Trump’s long record of fomenting discrimination against marginalised groups and spreading disinformation could justify an indefinite suspension."

Today’s decision lacks meaningful transparency about how Facebook’s algorithmic content curation, interface design, and policies could have amplified Trump’s content. Despite the fact that the Board requested this information from the social media giant, Facebook refused — again and again — to disclose the data. Transparency is an essential prerequisite for public oversight of Facebook's decision-making processes that have global and far-reaching consequences. Due to Facebook’s refusal to share this essential information, the decision fails to answer crucial questions about how Facebook’s systems impact democratic public discourse.

The Facebook Oversight Board is not an independent judicial authority, and therefore cannot replace independent public oversight that has democratic legitimacy.

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