Facebook announced Friday that it would maintain its suspension of former President Donald Trump’s participation in the social media site for two years – until January 2023 – but said he could return if he stopped committing ‘violations’.
Mark Zuckerberg handed the former president what he says was the company’s ‘highest penalty’ after the Facebook Oversight Board criticized the indefinite ban handed down after the Capitol riot.
And the former president responded first with a blistering statement, then with some online mockery.
‘Next time I’m in the White House there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will be all business!’ Trump wrote in a statement from his ‘Save America’ PAC. He blasted out his response by email, with Facebook and Twitter bans both in effect.
The company issued a detailed statement Friday spelling out the reason for its continuation of the ban – and acknowledging internal criticism that an ‘open-ended’ suspension that left the former president in limbo.
In May, Zuckerberg’s so-called ‘Supreme Court’ upheld the ban, but threw the decision back to Facebook executives to decide on the length of the suspension.
The decision came after the company’s Oversight Board announced in January that it had suspended Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, but had failed to provide an end-date.
The new statement acknowledged permanent removal was an option ‘if Mr. Trump commits further violations’ of its policies in the future.’
But the company also noted its Oversight Board had ‘criticized the open-ended nature of the suspension, stating that “it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension.”‘
Trump initially responded to ruling with an angry statement, where he once again called the election ‘rigged’ – the kind of statement that earned him a series of warnings from social media giants before the Nov. 3 elections.
‘Facebook’s ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75M 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!’ Trump wrote.
Trump received 74 million votes in the national popular vote, compared to Biden’s 81 million, and lost to Biden in the Electoral College, which determines the winner of the presidency.
The White House signaled approval for the move, while acknowledging it was the company’s decision to make.
‘It’s a decision for the company to make and any platform to make and clearly they’ve come out and made their decision,’ said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when asked about it.
‘Every platform has a responsibility to crack down on disinformation, to crack down on false information, whether it’s about the election or even the vaccine,’ she continued.
‘We learned a lot from President Trump, of the former president, over the last couple of years, about his behavior and how he uses these platforms,’ she said. ‘Feels pretty unlikely that the zebra’s going to change his stripes over the next two years. We’ll see.’
Former President Donald Trump’s suspension from Facebook will last for two years, the company said in a statement
‘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,’ according to the statement, authored by Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister of Great Britain.
‘We are suspending his accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year,’ the company said.
That means the suspension will remain through the 2022 off-year elections where Trump is seeking to play a significant role. But if he abides by its rules, he could once again use the platform where he has signed up millions of followers for a 2024 run.
‘We are today announcing new enforcement protocols to be applied in exceptional cases such as this, and we are confirming the time-bound penalty consistent with those protocols which we are applying to Mr. Trump’s accounts,’
But the company warned: ‘When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr. Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts.’
‘In establishing the two year sanction for severe violations, we considered the need for it to be long enough to allow a safe period of time after the acts of incitement, to be significant enough to be a deterrent to Mr. Trump and others from committing such severe violations in future, and to be proportionate to the gravity of the violation itself,’ the company said.
The blow comes after it was revealed Trump was taking down his own ‘From the Desk of Donald J. Trump’ web site after just 29 days following reports of slow traffic.
The Facebook ban drew howls of protest from Trump and GOP allies who railed against ‘Big Tech’ and its ability to use its global reach to sideline public figures from using the platform. Many candidates use Facebook as a way both to build supporters and drive fundraising efforts and promote events.
But the company spelled out what it viewed as a ‘serious risk to public safety’ if Trump were allowed back on.
‘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.’
The announcement comes during a week when the New York Times reported Trump expects to be reinstated to the White House later this summer, following the conclusion of ‘audits,’ such as one ordered by the Republican Senate in Arizona. That is one of the states where Trump claims election fraud, although the state certified President Joe Biden as the winner and Congress counted the votes for Biden.
Trump’s last post on Facebook remains his final message on January 6 in which he said: ‘I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!
‘Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!’ he wrote. The appeal came after lawmakers reportedly pleaded with him to tell his supporters to leave the Capitol.
Federal prosecutors said this week the riot resulted in $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol. They have prosecuted hundreds of people who took part.
Trump was acquitted in the Senate on charges that included ‘incitement of insurrection.’
Trump has continued to play a prominent role in national discussions since he left the White House and skipped Biden’s inauguration. Polling shows a substantial number of Republicans agree the election results are tainted, after Trump spent months sowing doubts about mail ballots and vote counters both before and after the elections using Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms.
But he has struggled to find a way to consistently put out his message, even while shattering the mold of ex-presidents with his frequent commentary on his successor.
Shortly before the Facebook statement, Trump used his own ‘Save America PAC’ to send out an emailed statement questioning the results in Arizona as well as Pennsylvania, which also went for Biden. He leveled a political threat at some Pennsylvania Republican legislators.
‘The people of Pennsylvania and America deserve to know the truth. If the Pennsylvania Senate leadership doesn’t act, there is no way they will ever get re-elected!’ he wrote.
Trump´s suspension from Facebook has still allowed people to read an comment on his past posts. Twitter, on the other hand, has banned him entirely and wiped away his former presence.
Trump called it a ‘total disgrace’ last month when Facebook’s Oversight Board upheld the ban.
It ruled that Trump’s posts around the riot ‘severely violated’ its rules and ‘encouraged legitimized violence.’
MailOnline
