Donald Trump's Twitter ban is permanent even if he holds office again
Shortly following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Donald Trump was suspended from Twitter before eventually being completely banned from the platform.
Now, Twitter’s CFO has revealed that the company has no plans to ever lift the former President’s ban on the social media site.
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Clearly, Donald Trump and Twitter had a very tumultuous relationship. Over the years, various tweets from the former president were slapped with warning labels and largely scrutinized by the public.
Then, last month, the social media platform had enough. Following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s tweets regarding the events, his account was initially suspended for 12 hours. Why? Well, various tweets on his account were in violation of Twitter’s civic liberty policy.
However, after Trump returned and posted tweets that violated policies again, Twitter decided to suspended his account permanently. At the time, Twitter said the ban was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Shortly following this, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey revealed why Donald Trump’s ban from the social media platform is “dangerous.” As well, he explained why Trump’s ban shows just how much power a company or social media platform can have over the world.
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Currently, the future of Donald Trump’s political career is rather uncertain. Although he claims he plans to run for President in 2024, his pending impeachment trial may impact those plans.
In mid-January, the House of Representatives voted to impeach the former President for the second time. Now, Congress is in the process of deciding whether or not he is guilty of inciting an insurrection stemming from the U.S. Capitol riots. If found guilty, Trump will never be able to hold public office again.
However, if Trump is acquitted and does make plans to run for office in 2024, Twitter says he will still not be able to return to the platform with a personal account. On Wednesday, Twitter CFO Ned Segal told CNBC that the ban is permanent regardless of if he holds office again in the future.
“The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform,” he said. “Whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO, or you are a former or current public official. Remember, our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence, and if anybody does that, we have to remove them from the service and our policies don’t allow people to come back.”
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“The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO or you are a former or current public official,” says $TWTR CFO @nedsegal on if President Trump’s account could be restored. pic.twitter.com/ZZxascb9Rz
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 10, 2021
Elsewhere in the interview, Segal disputes the claims that Twitter has lost users because of Trump’s ban. According to him, the platform has actually seen an increase in activity in recent weeks.
“We added 40 million people to our DAU [daily active user count] last year, and 5 million last quarter,” Segal says. “In January, we added more DAU than the average of the last four Januarys, so hopefully that gives people a sense for the momentum we’ve got from all the hard work we’ve done on the service.”
Twitter was the first social media platform to ban Trump following the U.S. Capitol riots. According to NBC, Snapchat has also permanently banned the former President. However, it’s been a different story for Facebook so far. Currently, Facebook has a temporary suspension on both Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. The Facebook Oversight Board is in the midst of reviewing Trump’s case and is expected to make a decision regarding his accounts in the coming months.
What are your reactions to Donald Trump being unable to ever return to Twitter? Are you surprised? Let us know in the comments below.
