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Facebook's independent oversight board on Wednesday upheld a ban on former US president Donald Trump while ordering further review of the case, in a decision with a potentially far-reaching impact on the regulation of online speech.

Trump, whose political influence has arguably been severely curtailed by the loss of his social media presence, responded with a statement slamming bans by the leading social network and other online giants as a "total disgrace."

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The oversight board, whose decisions are binding on Facebook, said Trump had "created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible" with his comments regarding the January 6 rampage by his supporters at the US Capitol.

"Given the seriousness of the violations and the ongoing risk of violence, Facebook was justified in suspending Mr. Trump's accounts on January 6 and extending that suspension on January 7," the board said after its review.But while endorsing the initial ban, the panel also determined that "it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension."

"Within six months of this decision, Facebook must reexamine the arbitrary penalty it imposed on January 7 and decide the appropriate penalty," it said in a written opinion.

"It is not permissible for Facebook to keep a user off the platform for an undefined period, with no criteria for when or whether the account will be restored," the board said, inviting Facebook to "either impose a time-limited suspension or account deletion."

Julie Owono, an oversight board member and African digital rights activist, said the ruling was based on a consensus "grounded in principles... in favor of protecting freedom of expression and human rights in general."