Oversight Board to decide on Facebook's Trump ban on May 5

by Rakesh Kumar Barik

Washington, May 4: The independent Oversight Board on Monday said it will announce its decision on May 5 on the case concerning former US President Trump, who was banned on Facebook following the Capitol attack on January 6.

On January 21, the Oversight Board accepted a case referral from Facebook to examine its decision to indefinitely suspend Trump's access to post content on Facebook and Instagram, as well as provide policy recommendations on suspensions when the user is a political leader.

The board, constituted by Facebook with 20 members from across the world last year, last month said it is reviewing more than 9,000 responses before it delivers the verdict on Trump's ban on the social media giant.

"We extended the public comments deadline for this case, receiving 9,000+ responses. The Board's commitment to carefully reviewing all comments has extended the case timeline, in line with the Board's bylaws," the Board had said in a tweet.

Facebook banned Trump from its platforms after the Capitol Hill attack on January 6.

Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that "the risks of allowing President Trump to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great".

Trump is still banned from using Facebook and its other platforms.

So far, the Board has received over 300,000 user appeals and thousands of public comments.
(IANS)