Facebook Says Trump Will Remain Banned Until 2023
Former President Donald Trump got a little more clarity on how long he will be banned from Facebook and Instagram.
Earlier today, Facebook made the announcement that Trump will have his Facebook and Instagram accounts reinstated in January 2023. The 2-year ban is effective as of Jan. 7, 2021, one day after the capitol riots.
Even after his 2-year ban is up Trump isn't necessarily guaranteed to be allowed back onto the major social media platforms as Facebook says it will first have to "reevaluate the risk of public safety" before granting him access to his accounts.
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.
Trump's accounts were suspended following the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and to date, it remains the most aggressive action Facebook has taken against the former president during his term as Commander in Chief.
In the event that Trump is allowed back on Facebook and Instagram in 2023, there will reportedly be a "strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions" if Trump decides to violate Facebook's content rules.
A few weeks back, Facebook's independent Oversight Board decided to keep Trump's suspension intact but said that the company needed to "reassess how it moderates the speech of political leaders" and make outlines "clearer" and publicly known. They also said that Facebook would need to determine how long Trump would be suspended as opposed to an "indefinite" ruling.
As of today, it seems like Facebook has decided that two years is appropriate by their standards in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection for Trump and anyone else who may repeat those types of violations to avoid duplicating that type of behavior moving forward.
Twitter has already made it clear that Trump's ban on their platform is a permanent one—even if he runs for President again.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump's team announced the shutdown of the former President's blog, which was once touted as a new "social media platform" for his followers.