Trump Announces New Website Amid Social Media Ban

Facebook’s Oversight Board upheld Former US President Donald Trump’s ban from Instagram and Facebook. The decision to review the case was brought up as it required an official response that must be applied to all users. Meanwhile, Trump announced he would release his own platform to communicate “straight from the desk.” 

As previously mentioned by MBN, Trump was initially blocked from using his Instagram and Facebook accounts for at least two weeks. However, as content was still being posted his social media accounts were suspended indefinitely. The decision to suspend Trump permanently was considered “indeterminate and standardless” by the board, which stated that Facebook’s response should be “consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform,” according to a BBC article. 

The board ordered Facebook to reach a decision in six months. “Indefinite penalties of this sort do not pass the international or American smell test for clarity, consistency and transparency,” said former federal judge Michael McConnell, co-chair of the Oversight Board. Co-chair of the board Helle Thorning-Schmidt also said: “We are telling Facebook to go back and be more transparent about how it assesses these things. Treat all users the same and don’t give arbitrary penalties.” As a response, Facebook announced it would “consider the board’s decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate,” as mentioned in a Reuters article.

Meanwhile, Trump announced the launch of his new communications website, where he will publish content “straight from the desk.” Through his “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” platform, the former president aims to release statements that users will later be able to like and share on Twitter and Facebook. Kara Swisher, a technology columnist for the New York Times, said to this, “I don’t know what the overall plan is because he does have some very sharp digital advisers. It is just the beginning of his attempts to try to re-establish a louder ability to participate in digital media.”

Trump mentioned with the release of the platform, “The people of our country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our electoral process,” according to BBC. 

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had previously criticized Trump’s ban labeling it censorship, as previously mentioned by MBN. President López Obrador implied that this could also lead to censorship in Mexico from those the same networks. At the time, he stated a desire to create a social network that would only work in Mexico where “there was no censorship.”