Trump to Regain Ability to Tweet, but Facebook Ban to Continue -- 4th Update
07 Janvier 2021 - 08:39PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah E. Needleman
Facebook Inc. placed its harshest restrictions yet on President
Trump Thursday, blocking him from posting indefinitely a day after
the social-media giant and its peers removed posts in the wake of
the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a post that the
ban on Mr. Trump would last at least two weeks -- through the
inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden -- adding that the risks
of his using the service during this period "are simply too great."
The ban, which applies to Facebook's flagship blue app and
Instagram, was initially due to last 24 hours when the company on
Wednesday said it removed a video from Mr. Trump that reiterated
unsubstantiated claims the election was stolen and expressed
support for the protesters.
"His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn
the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly
disturbed people in the US and around the world," Mr. Zuckerberg
said Thursday.
Separately, Twitter on Thursday morning said the president would
be able to resume tweeting from his personal account after deleting
three tweets that represented "repeated and severe violations" of
its civic integrity policy. The company, in a post just after 7
p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, said it had suspended his account for
12 hours, and warned that it could enact a permanent suspension if
he continued to violate rules.
A Twitter representative said the company would determine
whether "further escalation in our enforcement approach is
necessary."
Representatives for the White House didn't respond to a request
for comment. Mr. Trump as well as Republican lawmakers have
criticized the efforts of social-media companies in the run-up to
and following the 2020 presidential election, claiming their
actions to censor content have been targeted at stifling
conservative viewpoints.
A YouTube spokesman said Thursday that any channel posting new
videos that spread misinformation about widespread voter fraud
would be penalized, a move that temporarily restricts the page from
uploading or live-streaming. Several videos that Mr. Trump posted
Wednesday to his channel deemed to violate company rules were
removed, a spokesman said.
Social-media companies have been facing increased pressure from
some lawmakers and users to take a tougher stance on Mr. Trump,
calling for longer account suspensions or a permanent ban. Danielle
Citron, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School and
longtime member of Twitter's Trust and Safety board, has previously
argued in favor of suspending Mr. Trump's account, citing harm to
public health and U.S. democracy. On Wednesday she said in an op-ed
published by the news outlet Slate that the president "needs a
serious timeout, perhaps a permanent one."
The efforts from large platform operators to fact-check or slow
the spread of Mr. Trump's posts started before the November
election.
In May Twitter for the first time applied a fact-checking notice
to a tweet in which the president suggested without providing
evidence that mail-in ballots would lead to voter fraud. A month
later Facebook said it took down posts and ads for Mr. Trump's
re-election campaign because they violated its policy against
"organized hate."
And in August both Twitter and Facebook removed posts by Mr.
Trump that showed a video of him saying children are "almost
immune" from Covid-19, a claim the companies said ran afoul their
rules against harmful misinformation about the coronavirus.
The moves to sanction Mr. Trump extend beyond social media. A
range of business leaders and trade groups denounced his posts
Wednesday and urged for a peaceful transition of power.
Online stores run by the Trump Organization and Trump campaign
were taken offline Thursday by Shopify Inc., an e-commerce software
provider. A Shopify spokeswoman said Mr. Trump violated the
company's policy, which prohibits retailers on the platform from
promoting or supporting organizations or people that promote
violence.
Representatives for the Trump Organization, the umbrella company
overseeing the president's real-estate and branding business,
didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Vipal Monga contributed to this article.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 07, 2021 14:24 ET (19:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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