Facebook announced that it will suspend Donald Trump for two years following its Oversight Board urging the company was wrong to keep the ban open-ended.
The Big Tech giant will revisit the suspension two years from the date of Trump's original ban, January 7.
Assuming he is then reinstated, Trump will face a "strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions" if he commits further violations, including a permanent ban on his account, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"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," the company wrote Friday. The company expressed gratitude to the Oversight Board's agreement with the suspension in the first place, and said it accepted the need to put in better protocols for such actions. It also said it was working to offer users a more clear explanation when it comes to punishments and breaking policy guidelines."We know today's decision will be criticized by many people on opposing sides of the political divide," Facebook said, adding that "our job is to make a decision in as proportionate, fair and transparent a way as possible, in keeping with the instruction provided by the Oversight Board."In a statement via email, Trump said the ruling was an insult to his millions of voters.
"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!" he said.
In a statement on Friday, the Oversight Board said it is "reviewing Facebook's response to the Board's decision in the case involving former US President Donald Trump and will offer further comment once this review is complete."
Comment: This is the exact opposite of the rumors that have been floating around. From
Becker News:
Donald Trump's social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook appear to be restored. The header for Facebook was updated to his alert "Text Vote to 88022":
The president's Instagram account also appears to be restored:
Daily Caller's senior correspondent Henry Rodgers reported the news.
Trump is back on Instagram and Facebook. pic.twitter.com/EsohdQlSgo
โ Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) June 2, 2021
Many of Trump's followers on Twitter wondered when the website will follow suit. But Twitter has made it a point that Donald Trump is never going to be allowed back on the website, which has stirred a great deal of controversy.
The news follows upon Donald Trump shutting down his "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump" website permanently, as reported earlier.
The website is now replaced with a page for subscribers to receive "alerts" from the president. Trump adviser Jason Miller told CNBC, which first reported the page's shutdown, that the blog is being shut down for good.
"It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on," Miller told Axios.
...
Update: Facebook says Trump remains suspended, despite the recent changes to the accounts.
"No. Nothing about the status of President Trump's presence on our platform has changed. He remains indefinitely suspended," Andy Stone of Facebook said in a response on Twitter. It is unclear how the accounts were altered recently if Trump's team was locked out.
Maybe I'd have got more if I'd halted U.S. Military invasions for four years.