Facebook handed off a decision on ex-president Donald Trump’s suspension from Facebook and Instagram to an independent Facebook-funded review board. The board is comprised of more than 40 prominent figures including a former prime minister, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and several legal and rights experts. (The Washington Post, January 21, 2021, by Elizabeth Dwoskin)
Facebook’s move comes amid calls for action given the role Trump played in the January 6 storming of the Capitol and his role in inciting the subsequent invasion. During the last four years, the social media gave Trump a wide berth to avoid sitting in as censors, but it is now impossible for them to ignore the consequences of providing depots free reign. Many feel that it is time for the social media to revisit their responsibilities in policing political speech as terrorists are using the platforms for recruitment and lies and false information campaigns are launched by one country against another. (Vox, January 20, 021, by Sara Morrison)
Professor Paul Levinson, The Conversation, January 20, 2021, says that while the social media are not prevented by the First Amendment from restricting speech on their platforms, the government has often put restrictions on free speech that have been upheld by the courts. It is a far greater threat, argues Levinson, to allow the government to regulate social media for their attempts to censor speech than to let the social media work it out on their own.