Facebook will suspend former President Donald Trump from the platform for at least two years, the highest penalty possible under its new content moderation rules announced Friday.
Trump will not be allowed to use Facebook or Instagram for two years, effective from the date of his initial suspension on Jan. 7 of this year, following his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
If Trump continues to be a “serious risk” to public safety, his suspension could continue past two years, until the risk has receded, Facebook said in a press release Friday.
After the suspension is lifted, Trump will be bound by “a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr. Trump commits further violations in [the] future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts,” Facebook said.
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The update creates the possibility that Trump could be back on Facebook, where he had 35 million followers in January, right as the fight for the 2024 presidential election is starting.
However, it also means that Trump, the most prominent figure in the Republican Party, will be sidelined from Facebook for the 2022 midterm elections, in which the GOP is hoping to make gains and retake majorities in Congress.
Facebook’s extension of Trump’s ban comes after its independent Oversight Board last month asked the platform to review its suspension on Trump because it had applied a “vague, standardless penalty.” However, the Oversight Board agreed that Trump should remain banned from the platform for some period of time.
Trump responded angrily.
“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,” Trump said in a statement Friday.
“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 added.
The social media giant confirmed that it will give greater clarity about its confusing system of punishment for rule violators, known as the “strike system,” so that users will know what to expect if they flout Facebook’s content moderation rules.
Facebook will also increase transparency about when it considers posts from politicians and others to be particularly newsworthy and are granted exemptions from content moderation policies.
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Facebook has committed to implementing most of the Oversight Board’s recommendations in regards to making its content moderation rules more clear, fair, and evenly applied, especially when it comes to influential users.
