Former U.S. President Donald Trump will not be back on Facebook anytime soon after the social network giant’s Oversight Board decided today to uphold his suspension.

However, the board criticized Facebook for handing down a ban that was wasn’t permanent but didn’t have a timeline. It called the ban an “indeterminate and standardless penalty,” giving Facebook six months to make a final decision.

“Our sole job is to hold this extremely powerful organization, Facebook, accountable,” Michael McConnell, co-chair of the Oversight Board, said in a statement to the media, adding that Facebook had fallen short of applying its own rules.

“This penalty must be based on the gravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm,” the board wrote on its website. “It must also be consistent with Facebook’s rules for severe violations, which must, in turn, be clear, necessary and proportionate.”

Still, the impermanent ban was upheld because Trump had broken the rules by posting content that could have led to violence. “At the time of Mr. Trump’s posts, there was a clear, immediate risk of harm and his words of support for those involved in the riots legitimized their violent actions,” the board said, in relation to his calls to action over what Trump had called election fraud.

Critics have accused Facebook of not wanting to deal with the issue and the Oversight Board of being a “charade.” On Trump’s new website, he wasn’t exactly supportive of the decision. He called out Facebook, as well as Google LLC and Twitter Inc., as a “total disgrace” and an “embarrassment” to the U.S.

“The People of our Country will not stand for it!” he wrote. “These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process.”

Not surprisingly, right-leaning media have claimed the ban is a form of political bias. Republican Senator Tom Cotton went as far as to call it “Orwellian.” Democrats, also not surprisingly, criticized Facebook for allowing people to use its platform to plant the seeds of division.

Since the board has only issued a recommendation, it is not binding, and Facebook can do as it pleases. The upshot is that Facebook and its seemingly ineffectual Oversight Board appear to be playing a game of hot potato.

Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr