Facebook blocked Trump’s Facebook and Instagram account

Washington, Deciding its first-ever cases, Facebook’s oversight board ruled on Thursday; the social media company was wrong to remove four of five pieces of content the board reviewed; including posts, Facebook took down for violating rules on hate speech and harmful COVID misinformation.

The first rulings will be analyzed to see how independent the board appears; from the world’s largest social media platform and how it may rule in the future.

Particularly ahead of its high-profile decision on whether Facebook was right to suspend former US President Donald Trump.

Blocked access of Trump to his Facebook and Instagram:
The company blocked Trump’s access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts; over concerns of further violent unrest following the Jan 6; storming of the Capitol by the former president’s supporters.
The board said the Trump case would be opened for public comment on Friday; that he had not yet provided a statement to the board.

Facebook said it would abide by the board’s decisions.

The group, which was created by Facebook in response to criticism of the way it treats problematic content, also called for the company to be clearer about its rules on what is allowed on its platforms.

Here’s a list of the rulings

A post from a user in Myanmar with photos of a deceased child included commentary on a perceived inconsistency; between Muslims’ reactions to killings in France and China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims.

An alleged quote from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels that Facebook removed for violating its policy on “dangerous individuals and organizations.”

A post in a group claiming certain drugs could cure COVID-19, which criticized the French government’s response to the pandemic.
Facebook has submitted the case rather than users.

Decision Upheld
Post that purported to show historical photos of churches in Baku, Azerbaijan; with a caption that Facebook said indicated “disdain” for Azerbaijani people and support for Armenia.

The board said it would shortly announce one more decision from its first batch, as well as the next round of cases.

The board also issued nine non-binding policy recommendations – for example, that Facebook should tell users the specific rule they have violated and better define their rules on issues like dangerous groups and health misinformation. Facebook doesn’t have to act on these; it does have to publicly respond within 30 days.

Katherine Chen interview
In violation of Rules; The board member Katherine Chen told in an interview;
“We can see that there are some policy problems at Facebook,”

For responding to the decisions In a blog post; Facebook said it would publish updated COVID-19 misinformation policies. However, it said it would not change its approach to removing misinformation during the global pandemic.

Facebook has long faced criticism for high-profile content moderation issues.