05 May 2021
Facebook's independent Oversight Board has ruled in favor of upholding the platform's ban of former President Donald Trump's account.
Why it matters: The decision sets a global precedent for how Facebook, and potentially other social media companies, will treat political leaders around the world.
The big picture: Facebook, like Twitter, barred Trump for violating its rules in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, then referred the case to the board. While Twitter was President Trump's chief online megaphone, Facebook was his most effective fundraising tool.
Catch up quick: Facebook established and funded the Oversight Board to provide independent review when users appeal the company's content moderation decisions. Facebook has pledged to follow the board's recommendations with regard to specific cases and to give consideration to the board's broader policy recommendations.
Meanwhile, Twitter has shown no indication that it plans to review or reverse its decision to ban Trump, nor have other online platforms that took action against him after Jan. 6.
- Trump, his allies, and conservatives have criticized the social media bans as censorship and advocated new laws to punish the companies involved and/or limit their power to set rules for expression on their platforms.
- People around the former president have said he is weighing options for starting his own social media enterprise, and on Tuesday he launched a new website.
What's next: Facebook has 30 days to publicly respond to the Oversight Board's decision and policy recommendations.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.