Facebook can do whatever it wants, it’s a “private company” that obeys “Silicon Valley values.” That’s the position of Facebook Oversight Board trustee Kristina Arriaga, who defended the decision to keep former President Donald Trump suspended — for now.
Arriaga touted herself as an advocate for liberty, but failed to fight for it.
Arriaga claimed conservatives have “lost sight” of the fact that Facebook is a “private company” in her May 9, appearance on Newsmax’s “Save the Nation.” She told host and FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon that Facebook’s freedom to censor conservatives is similar to the freedom of conservative businesses to act based upon their values.
“[J]ust a few years ago, conservatives and religious people argued before the Supreme Court that Hobby Lobby ... should be able to operate its business according to its religious principles,” Arriaga recounted. “[W]e all agreed that when you start a corporation, when you start a business, you don't leave your values behind.” She then declared: “It is true that Facebook values are Silicon Valley values.”
Arriaga defended Facebook’s current trajectory with the Oversight Board: “The only way that you can have clean concise and transparent rules anywhere are either by government regulation, which no conservative would want, by abiding to the UN human rights system — and we all know that the UN is corrupt — or by doing what Facebook did, which is create an independent agency at the tune of 130 million dollars to ensure that Facebook is listening to all of its users and has mechanisms to make sure its policies are clear.”
There’s just one hitch: Facebook is taking cues from the UN.
The Board noted that Facebook announced its commitment to adhere to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights on March 16. The Board indicated that it used UN rules to decide Trump’s case, even though the case was instigated on Jan. 6, more than two months before Facebook’s commitment to the principles.
Brandon then asked Arriaga what the next step would be for trying to get Trump reinstated to Facebook in the future. Arriaga responded that the next step would have massive consequences for the platform:
“The next step for Facebook is Facebook now has six months to figure out consistent and clear policies and apply those policies to Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump could be reinstated any time between now and the six months, or Mr. Trump could be banned permanently.”
Facebook suspended then-President Trump indefinitely, even as he called for “peace” amidst the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact the Facebook Oversight Board on Twitter or Facebook and demand that Big Tech be held to account to provide clarity on “hate speech” and mirror the First Amendment. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
