Facebook implemented a two-year ban on the former President from all platforms, including Instagram, until 2023.
What We Know:
- Facebook’s Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said the extension of Trump’s ban following the insurrection of January 6 aligns with their new protocol. Under recommendation from the Oversight Board, a coalition of policy experts and journalists, Trump has received the maximum allotted punishment for violating the platform’s rules.
- Trump did not approve of this verdict. In a statement, he said, “They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win.” The former president has been able to release statements through his Save America political action committee. He also began a blog in May that he has since taken down due to low traffic. During his presidency, he relied heavily on social media to speak directly to his supporters.
- The hope is to revisit Trump’s ban at the end of the two-year ban.
Clegg detailed, “In establishing the two-year sanction for severe violations, we considered the need for it to be long enough to allow a safe period of time after the acts of incitement, to be significant enough to be a deterrent to Mr. Trump and others from committing such severe violations in [the] future, and to be proportionate to the gravity of the violation itself.”
- The Oversight Board still needs to clarify the rules and regulations for world leaders and how to determine the risk of violence. Facebook is reserving the right to decide what happens next time a political leader decides to post something dangerous or offensive.
- Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, does not believe this ban will curb the former president’s behavior, “It feels pretty unlikely that the zebra’s going to change his stripes over the next 2 years.”
The ban is controversial and brings into question the ability of a private company to suspend a former president. While many believe the ban should have happened a long time ago, the principle set will affect US politics for the foreseeable future.
