Facebook's oversight board on Wednesday upheld the company’s suspension of former US President Trump, Reuters reported.

At the same time, the Board said Facebook should determine a "proportionate response" that is consistent with rules applied to other users of the platform, and that Facebook must complete its review within six months.

In January, Facebook referred its decision to indefinitely suspend Trump from the platform to the independent Oversight Board, a panel of experts and civic leaders from around the world that was established last year.

Facebook banned Trump from the platform in the wake of the January 6 riots on the US Capitol, claiming Trump had encouraged the riots.

Twitter also shut down Trump’s account and later approved a permanent ban on Trump.

Twitter and Facebook were the first of many companies to take action against Trump, and were followed by Google which suspended Trump's YouTube channel, Reddit which banned some pro-Trump forums, and Snapchat, which permanently banned Trump on the day he left office.

Conservatives on Capitol Hill and beyond have contended that moves by Facebook and Twitter to "deplatform" Trump demonstrate political bias and inhibit free speech.