Trump: Social Media Firms 'Must Pay a Political Price'

Donald Trump has a new platform—and he used it Wednesday to attack tech companies after the Facebook Oversight Board upheld his suspension. "What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country," the former president said, per Politico. He said "Radical Left Lunatics" had taken free speech away from the "President of the United States," and warned: "These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price." Trump also used his website Wednesday to attack "warmongering fool" Liz Cheney and repeat his election fraud claims. The oversight board upheld Trump's ban but called for the company to review the indefinite suspension within six months and bring in clearer policies on suspending or banning rule-breakers.

The former president wasn't the only one criticizing Facebook Wednesday. The Week notes that the board said it had asked Facebook 46 questions and the company—which created and funded the board—had "declined to answer seven entirely, and two partially." A group of tech advocates who call themselves the "Real Facebook Oversight Board" called shifting the Trump decision to the oversight board a "PR stunt" that distracts from the need to "ensure real accountability" for harmful content including hate speech and election disinformation, the Hill reports. In a blog post, Facebook exec Nick Clegg, former British deputy prime minister, said the company will "consider the board’s decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate." (More Facebook stories.)