Congressional Republicans and prominent conservatives said they are angry and worried about censorship on social media increasing in the future after it was announced Wednesday that former President Donald Trump’s Facebook account will remain banned.
Facebook’s independent Oversight Board announced Wednesday that Trump will remain banned from the company’s platform after his accounts on Facebook and Instagram were suspended indefinitely following his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate condemned Facebook.
“Facebook is more interested in acting like a Democrat Super PAC than a platform for free speech and open debate,” said Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. “If they can ban President Trump, all conservative voices could be next.”
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“If Facebook chooses to uphold the ban on President Trump, they are making it clear they do not plan to respect the First Amendment rights of Americans,” the conservative House Freedom Caucus said. “Facebook, like other tech companies, are making it clear they do not respect or tolerate the voices and views of Republicans.”
Republicans called into question the independence and fairness of the Facebook Oversight Board. The board was announced in 2018 by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a separate entity that would help the social media giant handle thorny decisions involving content moderation.
“I am disappointed, but not surprised, by the Facebook Oversight Board ruling on President Donald Trump’s indefinite suspension,” said Rep. Ken Buck, the ranking chairman of the powerful House antitrust panel, which has jurisdiction over Big Tech platforms. “Facebook made an arbitrary decision based on its political preferences and the Oversight Board, organized and funded by Facebook, re-affirmed its decision.”
Prominent conservatives said the board’s Trump decision was incorrect and that people on both sides of the aisle should be worried about Facebook’s unfair content moderation policies.
“The Oversight Board’s decision to uphold the suspension is the wrong one, and one that all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, should be concerned about,” said Kay James, president of the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank. “However, it was entirely appropriate to admonish Facebook’s vague and standardless penalty.”
She added that “censorship is a threat to our American republic, and woke corporations like Google, Twitter, and Facebook should not be allowed to engage in such behavior without consequence.”
Some conservatives said Trump would benefit from the board’s decision because he would receive greater attention and sympathy.
“Trump is big winner from Facebook’s insane decision to ban an American who recieved 75 million votes,” tweeted former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a prominent supporter of Trump.
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“He will be a martyr attacked by social media oligarchs. 75% want these companies regulated. 68% want free speech guaranteed. Pro-Chinese, anti-[American] companies will get clobbered,” Gingrich added.
