No one: Anupam, what do you think of the Trump decision?
Anupam: A on the Facebook Oversight Board decision, what I call “Trump I.” It includes a prediction of what Facebook will do—so you can tell me I’m wrong at the end of the year! 1/

This was a sophisticated decision, written for the Trump case, but with future global leaders in mind. And it's, crucially, not the Oversight Board's last word on the issue. The Board didn't punt exactly--like many appeals courts, it sent it back for further consideration. 2/

Given both the facts of the Trump case, and the precedent for world leaders, it is pretty clear that the Oversight Board had to approve Facebook’s immediate decision to suspend Trump, lest the Board abet Facebook being used to foment violence by leaders in the future. 3/

My four favorite moments in the decision: First, that even if the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations standard is too vague (citing Special Rapporteur @davidkaye), the application of that standard here was squarely within that standard. 4/

Second, the Board is focused on design decisions that Facebook is making. It’s trying to push more thoughtful approaches to possibly dangerous content--seeing if design can help alleviate danger. 5/

Third, the Board agrees that it can be necessary to censor leaders in certain cases—in cases of “high probability of imminent harm”—and to do so quickly. That is a win for Facebook--and, more importantly, for all of us. 6/

Fourth, the Board says, “Restrictions on speech are often imposed by or at the behest of powerful state actors against dissenting voices and members of political oppositions.” It calls on Facebook to resist pressure from governments to silence their opposition. 7/

Prediction #1: Facebook will return Trump to the platform, but will disable the amplification options that allow you to “like” or share the post. 8/

It will allow users to comment on Trump’s post. It will also refuse to push his statements to those who like the page, but rather allow them to come to the page themselves via links or search. 9/

This will still allow mass media to pick up Trump’s future posts, and amplify them both outside and on Facebook. 10/

(I myself believe that a permanent ban is warranted. Trump will lie and cheat again, and weaponize social media accordingly.) 11/

Prediction #2: Whether Facebook restores Trump or bans him permanently, the Facebook Oversight Board will hear this case again. 12/

In April 2021, the Board expanded its jurisdiction to allow users to challenge content that Facebook has refused to take down. One wonders if that was in anticipation of this current ruling, permitting a challenge if FB restored Trump in response to this ruling. 13/

Kinda, sorta looking forward to the Facebook Oversight Board's decision in Trump II, coming to the interwebs in 2022! 14/

As always, follow great takes from the real experts on the FOB: @daphnehk, @evelyndouek, @Klonick, @davidakaye, and lots of others! 15/end

And @chinmayiarun, whose paper on Facebook's Faces is on the top of my post exam pile! ( https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3805210)