Facebook will consider Donald Trump’s suspension in January 2023
Donald Trump may be running for president, but he still can’t use Facebook.
The social media platform has no plans to restore Trump’s account following the former president’s announcement that he will seek a second term in the White House, the company confirmed on Wednesday. Trump was removed from Facebook following the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Trump may not have to wait long to return to the site, however. His suspension from Facebook will be reviewed in January, two years after it was first imposed.
One change will be immediate: As a candidate, Trump will no longer be subject to Facebook’s fact-checking. That’s because under Facebook’s rules, comments by elected officials and candidates for office are not subject to fact-checking on its site. The Associated Press participates in Facebook’s independent fact-checking program.
During his presidency, Trump’s use of social media has been a major challenge for major social media outlets trying to balance the public’s need to hear from elected leaders about concerns about misinformation, harassment and incitement to violence.
After the January 6 scandal, Trump was also fired from Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, which are owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta. Trump’s ability to post videos on his YouTube channel has been suspended.
YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi said Wednesday the company has no plans to lift the suspension.
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, said he does not agree with the platform’s decision to block Trump following the attack on January 6. Musk said no announcement regarding the reinstatement of banned users will be made until the content control council reviews the matter.
Twitter did not respond to questions about whether Trump’s election would affect the decision. Since his impeachment, Trump has started his own social media platform, TruthSocial, and said he has no plans to rejoin Twitter if allowed.
The platforms will be fine if they extend their restrictions to Trump or make them permanent, said Heidi Beirich, founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and a member of the Real Facebook Oversight Board, a group that has criticized Meta’s response to extremist content. and indirect information.
“The biggest problem is treating the candidates as if they are in a special category and deserve special treatment,” said Beirich. “If you have a set of rules, it should apply to everyone. The decision shouldn’t be a struggle.”
Facebook first suspended Trump’s account for 24 hours on January 6 after he praised the riots that hit the Capitol. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the indefinite suspension on January 7, adding that “the risks of allowing the President to continue using our service at this time are too great.”
The private company’s supervisory board agreed to the ban but ordered Facebook to set a time limit. The ban will now expire on January 7, 2023.
