Donald Trump used to be in many social media spaces, but that changed last January when he got banned from just about every major platform. Some bans are permanent, while others may still be lifted.
YouTube, for instance, may allow Trump to upload videos again for his audience of 2.79 million subscribers.
Will Donald Trump Soon Be Back on YouTube?
According to CNBC, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has said that the suspension on the account of former US president Donald Trump will be lifted once the risk of violence declines.
On January 12, Trump was banned from YouTube. That was six days after hundreds of rioters raided the US Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 US presidential election. Trump is accused of using his platforms to incite such violent behavior.
YouTube said Trump’s account had attempted to upload a video that violated its policies. This prompted an automatic seven-day suspension, as per YouTube guidelines. That suspension would be extended, due to “a potential for ongoing violence.”
“I do want to confirm that we will lift the suspension of the channel (…) when we determine that the risk of violence has decreased,” said Wojcicki at an Atlantic Council event.
Facebook won’t be treating Trump’s account any differently than it would anyone else’s. Wojcicki said that his account is subject to the same policies as all other Facebook accounts.
She also explained that the Facebook team will look at statements/warnings from the US government, law enforcement activities, and rhetoric that YouTube monitors to determine if the risk has changed at all.
So essentially, YouTube’s still thinking about what it’ll do with Trump’s account. In a similar vein, Facebook’s Oversight Board is to determine whether Trump will get his Facebook and Instagram accounts back.
It’s interesting to see which platforms are willing to give second and third chances. Twitter is handling the situation in a completely different way: the platform has banned Trump for life, even if he runs for president again.
Trump’s absence from social media is a victory for some, and a loss for others. Seeing as different platforms have their own takes on enforcing their own policies, it’s probably safe to assume that it’s unlikely that the former president will be able to get all his accounts unbanned.
Still, perhaps the status of all these bans won’t matter… as Trump is rumored to be starting his own social media platform anyway.
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