The Facebook Oversight Board has upheld the social media giant's decision to ban former President Donald Trump from its platform after he was suspended in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

"The Board has upheld Facebook’s decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account," the board wrote in its decision. "However, it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account." 

The quasi-independent group "insisted" that the social media giant must conduct an additional review within six months to "determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform."

"The Board also made policy recommendations for Facebook to implement in developing clear, necessary, and proportionate policies that promote public safety and respect freedom of expression," they said.

In the decision, the Board criticized Facebook for "applying a vague, standardless penalty and then referring this case to the Board to resolve," accusing the company of avoiding responsibilities.

The former president slammed the decision in a statement, calling the actions from Facebook, Twitter and Google to ban him from their platforms "a total disgrace and an embarrassment."

"These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process," Trump added.

In a statement, Nick Clegg, Facebook's VP of Global Affairs and Communications, said the company is "pleased the board has recognized that the unprecedented circumstances justified the exceptional measure we took," and thanked the oversight board "for the care and attention it gave this case."

"We will now consider the board’s decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate," Clegg wrote. "In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s accounts remain suspended."

Trump has about 60 million followers between his Instagram and Facebook pages.

Facebook suspended Trump indefinitely from posting on its platforms after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6., with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying, “we believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.” 

“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” Zuckerberg wrote on Jan. 7 on his Facebook page.

Two weeks later, Facebook handed the matter over to its Oversight Board, a 20-member panel created in 2020 to address difficult content decisions. Its rulings are binding. 

The Oversight Board noted that that two of Trump’s Jan. 6 posts “severely violated” the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram, agreeing with Facebook.

“We love you. You’re very special,” Trump said in one post, calling the rioters “great patriots” and “remember this day forever” in the other. The board said that those two posts "violated Facebook’s rules prohibiting praise or support of people engaged in violence."

The board said last month it had received more than 9,000 public comments on the matter.

Since being booted from the major social media platforms, Trump has used his post-presidency office to release statements, which have often read like extended tweets. On Tuesday, the former president launched "From the desk of Donald J. Trump," a page on his website which includes those statements, as well as the ability for Trump to release video messages to his followers. Those statements can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, platforms from which Trump is banned.

While Trump and his Twitter account were synonymous, Facebook was a central strategy to his campaign. The 45th president's campaign spent $160 million on Facebook ads during the 2020 election, according to Axios, and used the platform extensively in 2016 and 2020 to raise money and engage with supporters.

Americans are split on whether or not Trump should be reinstated, according to a Pew Research Poll which said that 49% of U.S. adults believe Trump should be banned permanently, but 50% of those polled believe he should not be banned permanently.

When asked about the Oversight Board's decision Wednesday after the announcement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, "we're not going to have any comment on the future of the former president's social media platform."

"The president's view is that the major platforms have a responsibility related to the health and safety of all Americans to stop amplifying untrustworthy content, disinformation and misinformation, especially related to COVID-19, vaccinations and elections," Psaki said of the role of social media companies. "He also supports better privacy protections and a robust anti-trust program, so his view is that there's more that needs to be done to ensure that this type of misinformation, disinformation, damaging, sometimes life-threatening information is not going out to the American public."

Psaki's comments echo her response on Tuesday ahead of the decision, when asked whether or not Trump's potential reinstatement would change the Biden administration's messaging: "No." 

This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates.