Facebook and similar platforms should err on the side of free expression, not censorship, while also offering users direct control over the content they see. But Facebook’s failure to abide by basic principles of fairness and transparency are unacceptable given the influence they exert over our national debate. Perfectly consistent content moderation is impossible in light of the scale at which these platforms operate. But historically they have failed to apply their own rules consistently, equitably, and transparently, or to adhere to basic notions of fair process in how they exercise the awesome power to decide what gets published on, and who can access, their forums. They present themselves as platforms for free speech rather than edited or curated newspapers. For the foreseeable future, Facebook, Twitter, and a handful of other corporations will make some of the most consequential decisions affecting free expression. The board put the decision about a permanent ban back in Facebook’s hands, to be made in the next six months according to the rules the company applies to other users.Īs pernicious as Trump’s speech was, the decisions by Facebook and other social media companies to remove Trump from their platforms highlight the immense power these corporations wield over our collective ability to speak online. 6, 2021, after the attack on the Capitol, was proper, but that its subsequent decision to suspend his account indefinitely - a sanction that is not mentioned in Facebook’s policies - was inappropriate. The OB ruled that Facebook’s initial decision to suspend former President Trump’s account for 24 hours on Jan. Facebook exercises quasi-monopoly power over a critical forum in our marketplace of ideas, and for many of the same reasons that we would be suspicious of a central government authority controlling what can and cannot be said, we have concerns with Facebook exercising such unchecked power. But Facebook’s decision to ban Trump nonetheless illustrates serious shortcomings in its content-related decision making - as its own Oversight Board (OB) properly declared yesterday in reviewing the decision. We also recognize that Facebook is a private entity with its own First Amendment rights to control the content it publishes. 4 election, and we called for his impeachment for his concerted effort to subvert our democratic process, leading to the Jan. The ACLU condemns the bald-faced lies that President Trump repeatedly propounded after decisively losing the Nov.
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