White House Sides with Facebook on Censorship of President Trump

The White House is backing a decision by Facebook to permanently ban President Donald Trump from the platform.

“The Board upholds Facebook’s decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account. However, it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account. The Board insists that Facebook review this matter to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform. Facebook must complete its review of this matter within six months of the date of this decision,” a Facebook oversight board concluded about the decision. "The Board also made policy recommendations for Facebook to implement in developing clear, necessary, and proportionate policies that promote public safety and respect freedom of expression."

During a briefing Wednesday afternoon, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she would not comment specifically on the former president's situation but then proceeded to comment on "broad" issues of misinformation.

.@PressSec: "We're not going to have any comment on the future of the former president's social media platform...the major platforms have a responsibility related to the health & safety of all Americans to stop amplifying untrustworthy content, disinformation and misinformation." pic.twitter.com/AFjtMtIKUX
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 5, 2021

Democrats are also onboard and are officially advocating for censorship.

Retweet if you agree. pic.twitter.com/4S7GYqEp9L
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) May 5, 2021

Meanwhile, Republicans are blasting the move and calling for the breakup of big tech.

Disgraceful.

For every liberal celebrating Trump’s social media ban, if the Big Tech oligarchs can muzzle the former President, what’s to stop them from silencing you? https://t.co/Yky4P0B38X
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 5, 2021

While Facebook paints itself as the moral arbiter of speech and what poses “imminent harm,” reminder: they argued in a Texas Supreme Court case they shouldn’t be held responsible when their platform is used for sex trafficking 14 year old girls.

Give me a break.
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) May 5, 2021

Break them up. https://t.co/J6nnipCG6v
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 5, 2021

This is a dangerous and reckless decision and sends a clear signal to conservatives using social media—you’re not welcome here.

If Facebook is so big it thinks it can silence the leaders you elect, it’s time for conservatives to pursue an antitrust agenda. https://t.co/yrUXIap3r3
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) May 5, 2021