Facebook Bans Former US President Donald Trump for Two Years; Explains Reasons
- Social media giant, Facebook, has announced that it does not consider it safe to allow a former US president, Donald Trump, to use its platform for now
- Trump has been accused of inciting a riot at the US Capitol following his claims the US election was rigged
- The former US president has continued to question the legitimacy of the poll which has been described as the most contentious in US history
A former US president, Donald Trump, has been suspended from Facebook until at least January 7, 2023.
CNN reported that Facebook made the announcement on Friday, June 4.
Source: UGC
The latest announcement implies that Trump will be off the social media site for two years, taking into consideration when he was initially suspended.
Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, explained that at the end of the duration, the comapny would assess the circumstances to see if the former president should be allowed back on the site.
Facebook said:
"We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.''
"If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded."
AbC7.com reported that the company stated that if Trump is reinstated, there will be a strict set of sanctions that will be applied if he commits further violations in the future.
It said the sanctions could include the permanent removal of his pages and accounts from the site.
The Economic Times reported that Facebook also plans to end a contentious policy championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that exempted politicians from certain moderation rules on its site.
The company had suspended Facebook Trump in January 2021, citing the risk of further incitement of violence following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as the reason.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been warned that he could face jail time after the New York Attorney General’s Office announced an investigation into the Trump Organisation.
A letter written by the New York Attorney General’s Office said that the investigation was no longer "purely civil in nature."
Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said that the letter announcing the investigation carried the real threat of jail time for Trump and his sons according to the Huffington Post.
Source: YEN.com.gh
