By Evie Fordham
Published May 05, 2021
Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., praised Facebook's indefinite ban of former President Trump that was upheld Wednesday.
"There's no Constitutional protection for using social media to incite an insurrection," Schiff wrote on Twitter. "Trump is willing to do anything for himself no matter the danger to our country. His big lies have cost America dearly. And until he stops, Facebook must ban him. Which is to say, forever."
Omar, meanwhile, reacted to the news by merely posting laughing emojis.
Facebook's Oversight Board upheld Trump's ban from Facebook and Instagram but said it was "not appropriate" to impose the "indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension."
TRUMP BAN: REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO BREAK UP FACEBOOK AFTER OVERSIGHT BOARD DECISION
The board gave Facebook six months to review the "arbitrary" indefinite ban, saying in a tweet that the company "violated its own rules."
Trump hit back against Facebook on Wednesday.
"What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country," Trump said in a statement after the decision, which he also posted to his new communications platform, "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump." "Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before."
"The People of our Country will not stand for it!" Trump continued. "These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process."
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., called Wednesday's decision "a welcome step by Facebook."
"For years, we saw former President Donald Trump – along with a number of foreign leaders – successfully utilize Facebook and other large social media platforms to sow misinformation, bully opponents, and spread anti-democratic vitriol," Warner said. "While this is a welcome step by Facebook, the reality is that bad actors still have the ability to exploit and weaponize the platform. Policymakers ultimately must address the root of these issues, which includes pushing for oversight and effective moderation mechanisms to hold platforms accountable for a business model that spreads real-world harm."
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"I support the [Facebook] Oversight Board’s nuanced decision to uphold the suspension which is consistent with the principles I have articulated to balance ethical community standards with user speech," Rep. Ro Khanna, R-Calif., wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, conservatives blasted Facebook and its Oversight Board and threatened to take action against Big Tech.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schiff-omar-democrats-facebook-trump-ban