upholds – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Joe Skipper | Reuters

Facebook’s independent board of directors decided on Wednesday to uphold the company’s January decision to suspend former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

However, the indefinite time frame for the suspension is “not appropriate”. The board has effectively relayed the decision on the length of the suspension to Facebook, stating that it insists that the company look into this matter to identify and justify an appropriate response that is in line with the rules in place for other users of its platform be valid. “”

The board asked Facebook to complete the review within six months and made suggestions on how to create clear guidelines that balance public safety and freedom of expression.

“We will now examine the decision of the board and determine a measure that is clear and proportionate,” said Facebook in a blog post after the announcement. “In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s accounts remain suspended.”

The case

Facebook blocked Trump’s accounts after the January 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol. The suspension was Facebook’s most aggressive move against Trump during his four-year tenure.

“We believe that the risk that the president can continue to use our service during this time is simply too great,” wrote Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg at the time in a post on his Facebook page.

Facebook referred the decision to its board of directors a few weeks later, saying that given the importance of the decision, “it is important for the board to review it and make an independent judgment as to whether it should be upheld”.

The decision to maintain Trump’s suspension is the most important action taken by the board of directors so far, which was initiated in October as the de facto “supreme court” for the company’s decisions on content moderation.

The Board is an independent body made up of experts in the fields of citizenship, technology, freedom of speech, journalism and human rights from around the world. A randomly selected but diverse group of five board members was selected to deliberate on the case, and the recommendation had to be approved by a majority of the entire 20-member board of directors.

Facebook had previously agreed to abide by the decisions of the board of directors, although Zuckerberg still has undisputed control over the company and the majority rule over the company’s shares.

The results of the board

The board found that Trump’s January 6th post “seriously violated” Facebook’s community standards. However, the platform “tries to evade its responsibilities” by imposing a vague penalty and then sending it to the board for review.

Trump’s statements on Facebook: “We love you. You are very special,” referring to the people who hang around the US Capitol, who rioters called “great patriots” and told them to “stay forever.” remember this day, “violated the rules of Facebook prohibiting the praise of people who are involved in violence, wrote the board of directors.

“The board noted that by maintaining an unfounded portrayal of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr Trump has created an environment where there is a serious risk of violence,” the board wrote, adding that Trump was posting his testimony there , immediate risk of harm and his words of support for those involved in the riots legitimized their violent actions. “

However, Facebook’s decision to issue the ban indefinitely was not justified, the board found, because it “did not follow a clear, published procedure.”

“By imposing a vague, standard-less penalty and then referring this case to the board for resolution, Facebook is trying to evade its responsibilities,” the board wrote. “The board rejects Facebook’s request and insists that Facebook apply and justify a defined penalty.”

Speaking to reporters after the decision, co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the group basically told Facebook that they can’t just invent new unwritten rules if they see fit. Co-chair Michael McConnell said it was far from the first time Facebook had made ad hoc rules.

The co-chairs admitted Facebook’s decision might get back to their desks, but McConnell said the decision could be easier if Facebook followed its recommendations for creating clear guidelines.

The board said that while Facebook should apply the same rules to all members, the company should consider context when assessing the harm, even if posts are made by “influential users”. It added that timeliness considerations “should not be a priority when urgent action is needed to prevent significant harm”.

Facebook should publicly explain the rules by which users are banned for specific periods of time and assess whether the risk of harm has changed before the ban is lifted, the board wrote. Still, the board said that deleting an account or page might be appropriate in certain circumstances.

Escalating attacks on oil facilities

Aramco’s facilities have been the target of several attacks by the Houthi rebels in Yemen – attacks that escalated this year, with Saudi Arabia and Iran, the latter of which supports the rebels, opposing the sides of the bloody civil war in Yemen.

Houthi rocket bursts in parts of Saudi Arabia, which hit Aramco’s facilities in early March, briefly brought the price of oil above USD 70 a barrel to the highest level in more than a year. Most recently, the rebels took responsibility for drone attacks on an Aramco plant in the capital Riyadh on Friday, which led to a fire that, according to the Saudi energy ministry, was quickly brought under control without any losses.

When asked how the company wanted to reassure investors and the global community that its infrastructure was well protected and ready to prevent serious business disruptions, CEO Amin Nasser said the attacks had “no business impact.”

“I think the most important thing is the willingness of our employees,” Nasser told CNBC during a press conference after the results were released. “There is always something you learn from every attack and you go out and improve your emergency response … and you make sure you have what it takes to restore these facilities if they are attacked.”

“We learned a lot and were able to prove with a reliability of 99.9% that we are able to put the system back into operation in every scenario, to guarantee the safety of our employees and to guarantee this at the same time.” The deliveries to our customers are fulfilled, “added Nasser.

“The attack on Riyadh is a good demonstration. Within hours of putting the fires out and completing the investigation, we started (re) operating the facility,” he said. “The Riyadh refinery went live today. This is a demonstration of the capabilities and contingency plan and emergency response of the first responders.”

Nasser was also optimistic about the outlook for oil demand in 2021.

“We have seen prices improve, with demand picking up and recovery much better. China is also very close to pre-pandemic levels,” said the CEO.

“As the use of vaccines increases, we will see a stronger pick-up in demand, so we are very optimistic about demand growth, especially in the second half of the year, and we can see that prices so far are responsive to what we see in the market We look forward to a much better year in 2021. ”

The international benchmark for Brent crude is $ 64.53 a barrel, up 25% year-to-date and a whopping 73% year-over-year.

Several oil analysts have raised their 2021 price predictions for vaccine and demand confidence. Goldman Sachs is forecasting a spike to $ 80 a barrel by the third quarter of this year – something unimaginable when WTI prices went negative for the first time in history about one year ago.