Facebook receives appeal to restore Trump’s accounts

The Facebook Oversight Board has received an appeal to restore former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, a spokesperson for the board has confirmed.

“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Facebook handed the case to its independent board in January. The board’s process reportedly gave administrators of Trump’s Facebook page the option to submit a statement challenging Facebook’s decision which has now been done.

The spokeswoman said the board would have no further comment until it had issued a decision.

The board is responsible for overseeing an appeals process that allows users to challenge decisions made by Facebook and Instagram. The decisions made by the board are final and cannot be overturned by any executives, including Zuckerberg.

Last month, Facebook and Instagram indefinitely banned Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said at the time.