Facebook announced on Friday that the suspension of the account of former United States President Donald Trump is two years, his maximum punishment, for violating the rules of the social network in the seizure of the Capitol by his followers.
The ban will take effect from January 7, when Trump was ousted from the platform, and comes after the independent oversight board of Facebook said that an indefinite sanction should be reviewed.
Almost immediately, Trump called the sanction an “insult” to his voters.
“They should not be allowed to get away with this censorship and silencing. In the end, we will win. Our country cannot bear this abuse anymore! ”He said in a statement.
Explaining the decision, Nick Clegg, vice president of Facebook for world affairs, said Trump’s actions “constituted a serious violation of our rules that deserve the highest penalty available under the new protocols.”
Facebook He also said that politicians will be treated like other users when they violate the rules of the social network, in particular in case of misinformation.
After the two-year suspension, a panel of experts will assess whether Trump’s activities continue to threaten public safety, according to Clegg.
“If we determine that there are still serious risks to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a period of time and will continue to review until the risk has decreased,” Clegg said.
When the suspension ends and if he again violates company rules, Trump will face stiffer penalties that could lead to his permanent exclusion from Facebook, according to Clegg.
“We know that today’s decision will be criticized by many people,” he said. “But our task is to make a decision as proportionate, fair and transparent as possible, adjusting to the instruction given by the Supervisory Board.”
Last month that independent panel said that Facebook He reacted correctly by blocking Trump for his comments on the deadly assault on the Capitol on January 6. However, he also stated that the platform should not apply an indefinite penalty.
Trump was suspended from Facebook and Instagram after posting videos during the attack on the Capitol perpetrated by his supporters who refused to admit defeat in the November elections. “We love. You are very special, ”Trump said in those publications.
The panel gave Facebook six months to justify why the Trump veto should be permanent, which left the ball in the court of the company’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, and exposed the weakness of the social network to regulate itself.
Zuckerberg has stressed that private companies should not be arbiters of the truth when it comes to what people say.
