Former President Donald Trump, who was booted out of Facebook and other social media platforms over his incitement of violence, has appealed directly to Facebook’s Oversight Board to allow him to rejoin the platform, according to a report by Channel 4 News.
The news outlet said the board, a group of 20 experts from around the world, is reviewing the company’s decision to permanently suspend the former US president’s account.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former prime minister of Denmark, and now co-chair of the content review group on the board, told presenter Jon Snow that they would be reviewing the appeal.
“It’s a very high profile case,” she said, “but that is exactly why the Oversight Board was created in the first place,” former prime minister of Denmark, and now co-chair of the content review group on the board, told presenter Jon Snow, adding that they would be reviewing the appeal.
Despite “trying to do this case a little bit faster”, a decision by the board will take time and they have given themselves 90 days.
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended following the 6 January violent insurrection at the US Capitol that led to Trump’s second impeachment.
As his supporters attacked the Capitol, Trump posted a Facebook video that appeared sympathetic to the rioters, as well as adding to his continued baseless claims regarding election fraud that led to the violence that day.
Watch Chanel 4 News’s announcement below.
The board was set up to hear appeals from users about content they felt had been unfairly taken down – as well as cases referred by Facebook itself.
19 former politicians, journalists and academics sit on the independent board that is funded by Facebook. pic.twitter.com/xznpL5wNcB
— Hayley Barlow (@Hayley_Barlow) February 23, 2021
