Former President Donald Trump will learn Wednesday whether he’ll gain back one of his social media megaphones.
What You Need To Know
- The independent Facebook Oversight Board announced Monday that it will announce its decision on lifting Trump’s ban on Facebook and Instagram at 9 a.m. Wednesday
- Facebook suspended Trump indefinitely from posting on its platforms, which include Instagram, after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6
- Facebook handed the matter over to its Oversight Board, a 20-member panel whose rulings are binding
- The panel’s ruling could set a precedent for how Facebook deals with posts by other American political figures as well foreign heads of state
The independent Facebook Oversight Board announced Monday that it will announce its decision on lifting Trump’s ban on Facebook and Instagram, which the social media giant owns, at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Facebook suspended Trump indefinitely from posting on its platforms after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6., with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying, “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
Two weeks later, Facebook handed the matter over to its Oversight Board, a 20-member panel created in 2020 to address difficult content decisions. Its rulings are binding.
The board said last month it had received more than 9,000 public comments on the matter.
The panel’s ruling is expected to have major ramifications beyond Trump himself. It could set a precedent for how Facebook deals with posts by other American political figures as well foreign heads of state.
It could also allow Trump to speak to his supporters multiple times a day again, just as he had done on Twitter, which was his preferred platform before it banned him indefinitely after the Capitol riot. Trump has more than 30 million followers on Facebook.
Since being booted from the major social media platforms, Trump has used his post-presidency office to release statements, which have often read like extended tweets.
In March, Trump adviser Jason Miller told Fox News that that the former president was in talks to launch his own social media platform.
