Donald Trump has been banned from Facebook for at least two years, the social media giant has announced, Friday, 4 June, New York Times reports.
The former president was indefinitely suspended from all Facebook platforms in the wake of the 6 January US Capitol riot, in which his supporters violently tried to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s election win.
The company said it determined that a two-year suspension was the appropriate length to allow a safe period of time after the Capitol riot.
At that time, the social media company will reevaluate whether the risk to public safety of allowing Trump back onto its services has receded.
“We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly, and other markers of civil unrest,” the company said in a blog post.
“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.”
If Trump is allowed back on the service, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Trump further violates the company’s content moderation rules, Facebook said.
This two-year suspension will prevent Trump from using Facebook or Instagram to broadcast to his followers until after the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.