Former US President Donald Trump has been suspended from Facebook until at least January 2023 with a promise to modify its rules in treating future ruling world leaders. According to Facebook, the suspension will be lifted only if the threat to public safety is removed.
The Facebook move effectively denies Trump a significant social media platform ahead of the November 2022 national midterm elections, in which his party will compete for Congressional seats. It does, however, suggest that he may be allowed to return to Facebook before the next presidential race in late 2024, wherein Trump may choose to contest.
Reacting to FB's adverse step, Trump termed it an insult to his American voters. He stated, "Facebook's ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75 million people, plus many others, who voted for us in the 2020 Rigged Presidential Election. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country can't take this abuse anymore!"
Facebook said it will consult experts to determine when the public safety concern had passed and Trump could be reinstated to its services after two years. It stated that it would assess variables such as incidences of violence prohibitions on a peaceful assembly, and other indicators of civil disturbance.
It's further stated that if Trump violated more rules, a series of increasing fines would it be triggered, perhaps leading to his permanent removal.
Facebook announced on Friday that it would cease its policy-exempting politicians from some content moderation guidelines because their information is deemed "newsworthy". It will also notify users when it makes use of this exemption.
Following the Capitol violence, Trump was banned from Twitter and remains barred on Google-owned YouTube. The former president, who had recently shut down his freshly launched blog, has hinted at plans to build his own platform, but his team has provided no details.
