Facebook Inc on Friday suspended former U.S. President Donald Trump from its platform until at least January 2023, and announced changes to how it will treat rule-breaking world leaders in the future.
Facebook’s independent oversight board in May upheld the social media giant’s block on Trump, which was enforced in the wake of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, because the company said his posts were inciting violence.
However, the board ruled it was wrong to make the ban indefinite and gave it six months to determine a “proportionate response.”
Trump’s two-year suspension was effective from the initial date he was blocked (January 7 this year) and will only be reinstated if the risk of public safety has receded, Facebook said in a blog post.
Facebook said it would work with experts to make this determination and would evaluate factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.
It also said there would be a set of escalating sanctions that would be triggered if Trump broke further rules that could lead to his permanent removal.
“Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols” Facebook’s head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said in the post.
The timing of Trump’s suspension means Trump will not be able to use his accounts ahead of the November 2022 national midterm elections, when his party will be competing for Congressional seats, but may be able to return to social media well before the next presidential election in late 2024.