Today’s announcement by Facebook that Trump will be suspended from their platforms for at least two years is yet another piece of evidence that the entire timeline of Trump’s 2021 battle with Facebook is nonsensical theater.
In a blog post titled, “In Response to Oversight Board, Trump Suspended for Two Years; Will Only Be Reinstated if Conditions Permit,” VP of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, responded to the Oversight Board’s instructions to “review the decision [to suspend Donald Trump] and respond in a way that is clear and proportionate, and made a number of recommendations on how to improve our policies and processes.”
And what was that response? To bring us back to where we started: a permanent suspension of Donald Trump in all but name.
In his announcement, Nick Clegg defined “new enforcement protocols to be applied in exceptional cases such as this,” and then confirmed that “the time-bound penalty consistent with those protocols which we are applying to Mr. Trump’s accounts.”
“Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols,” Clegg stated. “We are suspending his accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year.”
But notice the timeline of events here. On January 7, citing the “shocking events” of January 6 when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed it was clear that Trump intended “to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.”
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, 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,” concluded Zuckerberg.
Almost four months later, Facebook’s Oversight Board then upheld this decision, while simultaneously demanding that Facebook “review this matter to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform.” The Board justified their decision by claiming that phrases like “We love you. You’re very special,” “great patriots,” and “remember this day forever” had “violated Facebook’s rules prohibiting praise or support of people engaged in violence,” which is absurd on its face.
One month later, Nick Clegg was wheeled out to define these policies and, shock of all shocks, proclaim that these policies just so happen to justify Facebook’s original decision!
“We are today announcing new enforcement protocols to be applied in exceptional cases such as this, and we are confirming the time-bound penalty consistent with those protocols which we are applying to Mr. Trump’s accounts,” wrote Clegg. “Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols. We are suspending his accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year.”
While the suspension is technically for two years, Clegg made it clear that Trump’s ban could easily be extended, depending on “expert” analysis of “risk to public safety.”
“At the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest,” said Clegg. “If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded.”
To summarize, Facebook flouted their own policies to suspend Trump indefinitely, their Oversight Board — a supposedly-independent “check” on Facebook’s power — did nothing, and Facebook congratulated themselves after massaging into existence the precise set of policies required to justify their original decision.
What a surprise.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.