Washington (AFP)

Donald Trump deserved to be banned from Facebook for having "encouraged" the violent invasion of the Capitol with his messages claiming that he had won the presidential election, the co-chairman of the supervisory board of Facebook said on Sunday, even if according to him, the rules of the social network suffer from "inconsistency".

The former US president "is the one who emitted these inflammatory messages at the same time as the attackers invaded Congress" on January 6, estimated Sunday on the Fox News channel Michael McConnell.

This former judge co-chairs the Council of Elders of Facebook which extended for six months the exclusion of Donald Trump from the social network.

Donald Trump "has put himself in this situation and must assume it. As we make our beds, we go to bed," he said.

For this professor of constitutional law, the temporary suspension of the former president is justified because Facebook as a private company "is not bound by the 1st Amendment" on freedom of expression.

“Facebook is not a government” and Donald Trump “is not a citizen of Facebook”.

“He's a customer,” he added.

Nevertheless, the lawyer considers that the suspension of the former president "is not justified indefinitely".

Facebook must take the time to clarify "in the cacophony of its rules", which are "arbitrary", "inconsistent" and "lack transparency".

Qualified as independent, but funded by the company, Facebook's Supervisory Board is made up of 20 international members, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and former political leaders.

He approved on Wednesday the decision by Mark Zuckerberg's group to ban Donald Trump from posting messages on Facebook and Instagram, but asked the social network to reconsider this resolution within six months.

Facebook must therefore make a more appropriate decision by early November, whether it is to permanently ban Mr. Trump from platforms, allow him to return to them or suspend his accounts for a new fixed period, continued. the instance.

The attack on Capitol Hill left five dead and remains a major shock to American democracy.

© 2021 AFP