New York, NY, May 5, 2021 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt issued the following statement today regarding the Facebook Oversight Board’s decision to uphold Facebook’s suspension of former President Donald Trump from the platform:
We did not need four months and an unaccountable, secretive process to tell us what we already knew: Donald Trump should be immediately and permanently banned from Facebook.
Six months will not change the fact that for years Donald Trump exploited the platform to spread hate, incite violence and circulate disinformation in clear violation of Facebook’s community guidelines. Only after Trump played a role in inciting the violent terror attack on the US Capitol on January 6 did Facebook address his violations, and even then, Facebook passed the decision off to the Oversight Board to deflect responsibility.
Now it appears the Oversight Board is kicking the decision back to Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, asking them to decide within six months whether to lift the suspension or permanently ban him. This decision underscores that Facebook alone cannot police itself, nor can this industry self-regulate. We need comprehensive policy intervention, starting with Congressional reform of Section 230.
This also is why we need independent solutions for holding Facebook accountable and the entire industry. We call on lawmakers to pass legislation that would make all social media platforms more transparent and accountable for dangerous disinformation and misinformation, as well as hate content.