Former US President Donald Trump has lost his Facebook account after the company suspended him from its platform on June 4 till January 2023, while also announcing changes in ways of treating future rule-breaking world leaders.
Facebook Inc stated that the suspension will only be lifted if the risk to public safety has receded and noted that the suspension will last at least two years from January 7 when he was initially blocked after the Capitol riot.
While the latest Facebook ban is expected to restrict Trump’s comments on social media ahead of the November 2022 national midterm elections, it also means that he will be able to return to Facebook well before the next presidential election in late 2024.
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Earlier, Twitter has permanently banned Trump, while YouTube has put the former US president’s account under its suspension list after the Washington riot ensued.
However, after Trump shut down his recently-launched blog this week, he also highlighted plans to launch his own platform – though no further details have been released as of press time.
Facebook’s head of global affairs Nick Clegg, in a post, expressed the belief that Trump’s suspension was caused by the gravity of his actions “which constituted a severe violation of our rules and merited the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols.”
In May, Facebook’s independent oversight board – while supporting the suspension on Trump by stating that his posts were inciting violence – also ruled it as being wrong to make the ban indefinite and instead urged for a “proportionate response.”
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However, Trump had described the Facebook suspension of his account as “an insult” to Americans who had voted for him. Stating on June 4 that “Facebook’s ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75 million people who voted for us in the 2020 Rigged Presidential Election,” Trump said “They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our country can’t take this abuse anymore!”
However, Facebook will be discussing with experts deciding when the public safety risk will subside for Trump to allow him back on its platforms, besides also evaluating factors including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly, and other markers of civil unrest. (AW)
