Facebook Oversight Board members who upheld Facebook's decision to ban Trump

The Facebook Oversight Board has supported the decision of Facebook to impose a ban on former President Donald Trump’s Facebook account that was imposed on January 7th, 2021. A report in NYTimes suggests that though the Facebook Oversight Board has upheld Facebook’s ban on Donal Trump’s Facebook account, the Board has suggested that Facebook review its decision to impose an indefinite suspension. Here is more information about the Facebook Oversight Board:

Who is on Facebook oversight board?

As mentioned on the official website of the Oversight Board, here is a list of Facebook Oversight board members.

Catalina Botero-Marino

• Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Expression, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia

She has a background in

1. Constitutional law
2. International human rights law
3. Freedom of expression

 Maina Kiai

• Director, Human Rights Watch Global Alliances and Partnerships, Kenya
• He has a background in the background Human rights

Endy Bayuni

• Senior Editor and Board Member, The Jakarta Post, Indonesia. He has a background in Journalism.

Tawakkol Karman

• Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Belongs to Yemen.

She has a background in:

1. Governance
2. Corruption
3. Extremism
4. Terrorism
5. Women & girls' rights
6. Poverty
7. Religious reforms

Katherine Chen

• Professor, National Chengchi University, Taiwan

She has a background in

1. Role of media in society
2. Media policy
3. Health communication

Nighat Dad

• Founder, Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan. 

She has a background in:

1. Digital rights
2. Online safety
3. Women's rights in South Asia
4.  Gender and law

Emi Palmor

• Advocate and Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel. 

She has a background in

1. Management
2. Policy design
3. Governance
4. Public sector
5. Law

Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei

• Program Manager, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, Senegal & Ghana. 

She has a background in

1. Access to information
2. Freedom of expression
3. Women's rights
4. Children's rights
5. Persons with disabilities rights
6. LGBTQ+ rights

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

• Former Prime Minister, Denmark.

She has a background in

1.  International politics
2.  European politics
3. European Union
4. Human rights

Evelyn Aswad

• Professor and Chair, University of Oklahoma College of Law, United States of America. She has a background in International human rights law

Sudhir Krishnaswamy

• Vice Chancellor and Professor of Law, National Law School of India University, India.

He has a background in

1. Constitutional law
2. Politics

John Samples

• Vice President, Cato Institute, United States of America. 

He has a background in

1. Free speech
2. Speech regulation
3. Political science

Michael McConnell

• Professor and Director of the Constitutional Law Center, Stanford Law School, United States of America.

He has a background in

1. Constitutional law and theory.

Julie Owono

• Executive Director, Internet Sans Frontières, Cameroon & France.

She has a background in

1.  International law
2. Technology and human rights
3. International relations

Suzanne Nossel

• Chief Executive Officer, PEN America, United States of America. 

She has a background in

1. Freedom of expression
2. Human rights

Nicolas Suzor

• Professor, School of Law at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. 

He has a background in

1.  Technology regulation
2. Social media governance
3. Intermediary liability
4. Content moderation
5. Freedom of expression
6. Hate speech automation

Alan Rusbridger

• Principal, Lady Margaret Hall Oxford, United Kingdom. Background in Journalism

András Sajó

• University Professor, Central European University, Hungary. 

He has a background in

1. Human rights
2. Freedom of expression
3. Comparative constitutional law

Ronaldo Lemos

• Professor, Rio de Janeiro State University's Law School, Brazil. 

He has a background in

1. Technology
2. Intellectual property
3. Media and public policy

Jamal Greene

• Professor, Columbia Law School, United States of America.

He has a background in

1. Constitutional law
2. Comparative constitutional law
3. Freedom of speech
4. Election law

Why was the Donald Trump Facebook ban imposed?

On January 7, 2021, Facebook had suspended Donald Trump’s account on the social media platform. It was stated by the company that Trump had violated their company’s policies against the incitement of violence. Further, Facebook stated in a blog post that the deadly storming of the Capitol earlier that week defied the social media platform’s belief in a peaceful transition of government and the democratic process. After that, it was left to the board to decide whether Trump’s account should remain suspended.

Mark Zukerberg had taken to the platform, back on January 7th, 2021, and had stated that the company believes the risks of allowing the President to continue to use their service during that period are “simply too great”. He had further revealed, “we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete”.

A report in the NY Times reveals that while Facebook oversight board members and the company insists that the board is independent, Facebook funds the board with a $ 130 million trust. Moreover, top executives played a big role in its formation. The board so far has issued several decisions on minor takedowns by Facebook.

IMAGE: AP