Facebook has announced that former US President Donald Trump will remain suspended from the platform for a minimum of two years. It has also announced the introduction of new protocols for dealing with "exceptional cases" of rule violations by public figures during times of civil unrest. The decision brings some clarity to Trump's case after it was bounced back and forth between Facebook and its Oversight Board. It also provides an opportunity to look back at how this point arrived and what the implications of Facebook's decision may be.
Trump was suspended indefinitely by Facebook on January 7 following the violence during the Electoral College vote count at the US Capitol, which Facebook characterized at the time as "a US president actively fomenting a violent insurrection designed to thwart the peaceful transition of power." The suspension was referred to Facebook's Oversight Board, which in a stroke of fortuitous timing had only begun operating in October 2020. The board gives independent rulings on Facebook's content decisions and recommendations for how Facebook should proceed with them — although Facebook is not obliged to follow the recommendations. In May, it announced that it had upheld Trump's suspension but found that a time-bound period should have been given for it, forcing Facebook to make a decision on that — something that some have suggested the company was perhaps trying to outsource, using the Oversight Board as a lightning rod of sorts.
That decision was a minimum two-year suspension with the potential for it to be extended if there remains a serious risk to public safety when the time is up. It was based on new "heightened penalties for public figures during times of civil unrest and ongoing violence" that Facebook has developed to help it make similar decisions going forward. These range from one month up to two years for severe violations and can include permanent removal. In addition, Facebook has made changes to its 'newsworthiness allowance,' which had previously assumed any post by a politician was newsworthy. Now, content posted by politicians will not be assessed any differently from content posted by anyone else and will be removed if it violates Facebook's Community Standards, even if it is deemed newsworthy.
Trump will be suspended until at least January 7, 2023. Then, Facebook says it "will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded." Among the external factors it will take into account are instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly, and other markers of civil unrest. However, it is not clear how Facebook might select the experts it intends to canvas.
It's also not clear how Facebook determined the time penalties for public figures at times of civil unrest — it did not provide an explanation in its announcement. Some have noted the two-year maximum falls short of the 2024 presidential election cycle. Wired perhaps best summed up some wariness about this by saying: "The fact that it came up with a two-year maximum suspension seems suspiciously tailored to potentially allow Trump back on the platform just when he’s getting ready to start running for president again." Were Trump to be reinstated after two years, though, Facebook says he will be subject to a "strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions" that will come into play with any further transgressions and could result in the permanent removal of his accounts and pages.
There's plenty to pore over in all this and political outlook will inform many people's view of whether the right decision has been made or not. Politics aside, though, accountability has been explored, processes have held up, Facebook hasn't been allowed to duck a difficult decision, and there are new measures in place for this and similar cases in the future. Whisper it quietly, but the Oversight Board may just be working.
Sources: Facebook 1, 2, 3, Oversight Board 1, 2, Wired
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