Facebook oversight board extends timeline to decide on Trump ban

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The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux
The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

April 16 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's (FB.O) independent oversight board said on Friday it had extended the timeline for deciding whether to uphold former U.S. President Donald Trump's indefinite suspension from Facebook and Instagram.

The board, created by Facebook in response to criticism over its handling of problematic content, wrote in a tweet that it would announce the decision in the coming weeks.

Facebook indefinitely blocked Trump's access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts over concerns of further violent unrest following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. It later handed the case to the board. read more

The board, which would usually have 90 days to make a decision, had been expected to announce its ruling in the coming days. read more

But the board said its extension of the case's public comment period meant it needed more time to review the input. The board has said it had received more than 9,000 comments on the Trump case, more than for any other case.

Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Technology correspondent in New York, reporting on social media companies and their impact. Previously based in San Francisco and London, she worked on digital, graphics and investigative teams and covered the U.S. 2020 presidential election. She was part of a Reuters reporting team that won Gerald Loeb, Scripps Howard and SABEW Best in Business awards.

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