海角大神

Former President Donald Trump won鈥檛 return to Facebook 鈥� for now.

Since the day after the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Mr. Trump鈥檚 social media accounts have been silent 鈥� muzzled for inciting violence using the platforms as online megaphones.聽On Wednesday, Facebook鈥檚 quasi-independent Oversight Board voted to uphold his current ban from the platform, which was put into effect after his account was suspended four months ago for inciting violence that led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

But while upholding the suspension, the board faulted Facebook in a statement for the way it made the decision.

The board said the ongoing risk of serious violence justified Facebook鈥檚 suspension at the time, but said it 鈥渨as not appropriate for Facebook to impose an 鈥榠ndefinite鈥� suspension.鈥�

The board said Facebook was seeking to avoid its responsibilities by applying 鈥渁 vague, standardless penalty鈥� and then referring the case to the board to resolve.

鈥淚ndefinite penalties of this sort do not pass the international smell test,鈥� oversight board co-chair Michael McConnell said in a conference call with reporters. 鈥淲e are not cops, reigning over the realm of social media.鈥�

Politicians, free speech experts, and activists around the world were watching the decision closely. It has implications not only for Mr. Trump but for tech companies, world leaders, and people across the political spectrum 鈥� many of whom have wildly conflicting views of the proper role for technology companies when it comes to regulating online speech and protecting people from abuse and misinformation.

Facebook created the oversight panel to rule on thorny content on its platforms following widespread criticism of its difficulty responding swiftly and effectively to misinformation, hate speech and nefarious influence campaigns. Its previous decisions so far have tended to favor free expression over the restriction of content.

The board agreed with Facebook that that two of Mr. Trump鈥檚 Jan. 6 posts 鈥渟everely violated鈥� the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram.

鈥淲e love you. You鈥檙e very special,鈥� he said to the rioters in the first post. In the second, he called them 鈥済reat patriots鈥� and told them to 鈥渞emember this day forever.鈥� Those violated Facebook鈥檚 rules against praising or supporting people engaged in violence, the board said.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former Danish prime minister who sits on the board, said in the call that Facebook shirked its responsibility to enforce its own rules. 鈥淔acebook should either permanently disable Trump鈥檚 account or propose a suspension for a specific period of time,鈥� she said.

Ms. Thorning-Schmidt said Facebook can鈥檛 just invent 鈥渘ew unwritten rules鈥� for special users when it suits the company while everybody else has to follow their standards. 鈥淭hey did get it right, but they can鈥檛 have a penalty that鈥檚 indeterminate because that鈥檚 not in their own rules,鈥� she said.

The board says Facebook has six months to reexamine the 鈥渁rbitrary penalty鈥� it imposed on Jan. 7 and decide on another penalty that reflects the 鈥済ravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm.鈥�

It didn鈥檛 say exactly how Facebook should do this, but offered a number of recommendations. One advised against drawing a firm distinction between political leaders and other influential users because anyone with a big audience can potentially cause serious risks of harm.

Among the board鈥檚 recommendations is that considerations of a political leader鈥檚 鈥渘ewsworthiness鈥� shouldn鈥檛 take priority when the company must take urgent action to prevent harm. Facebook has said it didn鈥檛 consider newsworthiness in its Trump decision, but the board said there remains widespread confusion about Facebook鈥檚 handling of influential users.

The board also says Facebook should publicly explain the rules that it uses to sanction influential users, and emphasized the need for time-bound suspensions and clear rules on how they can be lifted.

The board says the new penalty must be 鈥渃lear, necessary, and proportionate鈥� and consistent with Facebook鈥檚 rules for severe violations.

The board says if Facebook decides to restore Mr. Trump鈥檚 accounts, the company must be able to promptly address further violations.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Critics of Facebook worry that the Oversight Board is a mere distraction from the company鈥檚 deeper problems 鈥� ones that can鈥檛 be addressed in a handful of high-profile cases by a semi-independent body of experts.

鈥淔acebook set the rules, are judge, jury, and executioner, and control their own appeals court and their own Supreme Court. The decisions they make have an impact on our democracies, national security, and biosecurity and cannot be left to their own in house theatre of the absurd,鈥� Imran Ahmed, CEO Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit critical of Facebook, said the day before the ruling. 鈥淲hatever the judgement tomorrow, this whole fiasco shows why we need democratic regulation of Big Tech.鈥�

The board, which has 20 members and will eventually grow to 40, did not reveal how it voted. It said a minority of members emphasized that Facebook should require users who seek reinstatement after being suspended to 鈥渞ecognize their wrongdoing and commit to observing the rules in the future.鈥�

A day before the announcement, Mr. Trump unveiled a new blog on his personal website, 鈥淔rom the Desk of Donald J. Trump.鈥� While the page includes a dramatic video claiming, 鈥淎 BEACON OF FREEDOM ARISES鈥� and hailing 鈥淎 PLACE TO SPEAK FREELY AND SAFELY,鈥� the page is little more than a display of Mr. Trump鈥檚 recent statements 鈥� available elsewhere on the website 鈥� that can be easily shared on Facebook and Twitter, the platforms that banished him after the riot.

While Trump aides have spent months teasing his plans to launch his own social media platform, his spokesman Jason Miller said the blog was something separate.

鈥淧resident Trump鈥檚 website is a great resource to find his latest statements and highlights from his first term in office, but this is not a new social media platform,鈥� he tweeted. 鈥淲e鈥檒l have additional information coming on that front in the very near future.鈥�

Barred from social media, Mr. Trump has embraced other platforms for getting his message out. He does frequent interviews with friendly news outlets and has emailed a flurry of statements to reporters through his official office and political group.

Mr. Trump has even said he prefers the statements to his old tweets, often describing them as more 鈥渆legant.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.