Donald Trump, a former US president, has appealed against the indefinite suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The Facebook Oversight Board in a statement on Tuesday confirmed that it received an appeal from the former US president.
“We can confirm that a user statement has been received in the case before the Oversight Board concerning President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts,” a spokesperson for the Oversight Board said in a statement.
The spokesperson declined further comment.
The Oversight Board has received about 9,000 comments from the public on the hotly contested question of whether to allow Trump access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Facebook announced in January that it asked the Oversight Board to review its decision to suspend Trump on 7 January, a day after a group of the president’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram remain suspended pending the Oversight Board’s decision.
The Trump ban is the most consequential case yet for the Oversight Board, carrying far-reaching political implications for the nation.
Facebook’s Oversight Board launched last year to review the toughest calls the company makes. It is supposed to function as an independent entity but gets financial backing and technical support from Facebook.
The Oversight Board has 90 days to make a decision, but a ruling is expected more quickly. Its decision is binding and cannot be overruled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg or any other Facebook executive.
YouTube and other social media companies also indefinitely suspended Trump’s accounts. Snapchat and Twitter permanently banned Trump.
Additional reporting from USA Today
