The company already faces antitrust lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general that have seen broad bipartisan support.
It suggested that Facebook could assess whether risk of harm has diminished before reinstating an account. The board said that context matters when it comes to suspension decisions and preventing significant harm should take precedence over newsworthiness. Still, the board did provide a list of recommendations to frame how Facebook should consider its decision, which could at least make its ultimate choice more clear to consumers. "Trump should be banned for good, but Facebook will continue to fumble with its power until Congress and antitrust regulators rein in Big Tech." Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tweeted following the decision on Wednesday. "Facebook is a disinformation-for-profit machine that won't accept responsibility for its role in the safety of our democracy and people," Sen. But the actual decision has seemed to aggravate lawmakers on both the left and the right. It was clear long before the decision was made that half the country would likely be unhappy with whichever outcome the board chose, whether it was to permanently ban or to reinstate Trump's account. That makes the board's decision on the Trump ban perhaps the worst-case scenario for Facebook, at least in terms of the delicate diplomatic line it walks in Washington. Zuckerberg has long said he does not want to be the sole arbiter of truth for such a large community and has welcomed the presence of an outside body that could appear to play that role in a deliberative way - without taking away any of his power over the business. Yet Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously committed the platform to following the board's decision on the Trump ban, whatever it may be.
The board's recommendations are not binding. It's funded by a trust created by Facebook but which the platform cannot control. The oversight board was created to adjudicate on some of the trickiest problems Facebook faces in operating a platform for a community larger than most nations. "The Board declines Facebook's request and insists that Facebook apply and justify a defined penalty."
"In applying a vague, standardless penalty and then referring this case to the Board to resolve, Facebook seeks to avoid its responsibilities," wrote the board, an independent committee of 20 outside experts.
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