House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is issuing a warning after Facebook’s independent Oversight Board decided to uphold the suspension of former President Donald Trump.
In a tweet on Wednesday, McCarthy said, “Facebook is more interested in acting like a Democrat Super PAC than a platform for free speech and open debate.”
“If they can ban President Trump, all conservative voices could be next,” he added.
He went on to claim that a Republican majority in the House would “rein in big tech power over our speech.”
In the wake of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Facebook announced it would ban Trump at least through the end of his term. The company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the decision as he said, “We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
On Wednesday morning, the Oversight Board revealed it had decided to uphold the suspension, “The Board has upheld Facebook’s decision on January 7 to suspend then-President Trump from Facebook and Instagram. Trump’s posts during the Capitol riot severely violated Facebook’s rules and encouraged and legitimized violence.”
However, it said that “imposing a suspension that was ‘indefinite'” violated Facebook’s rules.
“Within 6 months of today, Facebook must review this matter and decide a new penalty that reflects its rules, the severity of the violation, and prospect of future harm. Facebook can either impose a time-limited suspension or account deletion,” it added.
The decision, which came almost five months after the suspension was implemented, was the first time the Oversight Board made a decision on a case involving a world leader.
Some critics of Trump worried that the panel’s track record of overturning six out of eight previous cases signaled the former president would be allowed back on the platform.