Facebook's Oversight Board has temporarily upheld the ban on Trump's accounts but refused to make a final call on it, instead throwing the controversial decision back to Mark Zuckerberg and giving him another six months to ponder it.
The board announced its findings on Wednesday, almost exactly four months since Trump was banned in response to the Capitol riot. It was an unprecedented move of censorship on a world leader and sparked a global debate over how much control social media and big tech should have over free speech.
The oversight board - whose sole purpose is to make sure Facebook does not have full autonomy over the site - took on the case and has spent months deliberating it amid fervent anticipation.
All of its 20 left-leaning members are paid six figures for doing approximately 15 hours of work a week, costing Facebook more than $2million a year.
But in their decision on Wednesday, the five deciding board members (who are not named) refused to rule on whether Trump should be permanently kept off the site or allowed back.