Yahoo Finance YouTube extends ban on Trump amid concerns about further violence
Donald Trump is suspended from posting to YouTube indefinitely after the video platform’s parent company Google extended a ban put in place this month.
“In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J Trump channel will remain suspended,” a YouTube spokesperson said. “Our teams are staying vigilant and closely monitoring for any new developments.”
YouTube had announced on 12 January, following the insurrection at the Capitol, that it would suspend Trump’s account indefinitely. After revisiting the issue it has decided to keep that suspension in place, CNet first reported.
Under the suspension, Trump’s account will remain online but the former president will not be able to post new videos. Comments under existing videos will remain disabled, a YouTube spokesperson told the Guardian. The company did not give any indication as to when the suspension would be lifted.
YouTube is one of several major tech platforms that took action against Trump in early January, citing a risk his messages could incite violence.
Twitter on 8 January banned Trump permanently from its platforms in all capacities. It suspended Trump’s personal Twitter account and cracked down on other accounts Trump attempted to tweet from to evade the ban, including the official presidential account @POTUS and his campaign account @TeamTrump. After Trump left office, @POTUS was turned over to Joe Biden.
Related: Blocked: how the internet turned on Donald Trump
Trump remains suspended from Facebook and Instagram pending a decision from the platform’s Oversight Board. The board comprises 30 officials from around the world who work as Facebook’s “supreme court”, meant to have a more objective final say on the social network’s moderation decisions. It has not yet announced when the board will take up the issue.
Critics of Facebook, including a group calling itself the “Real Facebook Oversight Board”, objected to Facebook’s decision to defer to the board regarding Trump’s suspension, saying that the platform’s action against the account was too little, too late. “The Oversight Board is no substitute for real and responsible moderation of content nor is it an acceptable replacement for truly independent, democratically accountable regulation,” the group said in a statement.
“If they can’t take up a case until after there’s been an attempted insurrection, what’s the point?” it added. “Whether or not Trump is banned for good, the real question needs to be: what is Facebook doing to keep hateful and violent content off their platforms to begin with?”
