Episode 82: The Oversight Board's Trump decision, and Merkel's legacy

Undercurrents

In the wake of the storming of Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021, social media platforms took steps to remove former President Donald Trump from their websites for infringing community standards. This step was welcomed by many, but also raised serious questions about the power of social media companies to limit free speech and censor elected officials. The suspension of President Trump from Facebook was referred to the Oversight Board, an independent body of experts set up to scrutinise the platform's content moderation decisions.

In this episode, Ben speaks to Thomas Hughes, Director of the Oversight Board Administration, and Dr Kate Jones from Chatham House's International Law programme. They discuss the outcome of the Oversight Board's inquiry into the Trump suspension, and the wider implications for content moderation on social media.

Then Lara is joined by Hans Kundnani from the Europe Programme at Chatham House, to assess the political outlook in Germany and reflect on the legacy of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Read the Chatham House expert comments:

Facebook's power under scrutiny as Trump ban upheld

Another CDU leadership race begins in Merkel's shadow

Credits:

Speakers: Thomas Hughes, Kate Jones, Hans Kundnani

Hosts: Lara Hollmann, Ben Horton

Editor: Jamie Reed

Recorded and produced by Chatham House.