Youtube will lift Trump ban as threat drops
The suspension of former President Donald Trump’s Youtube channel will be lifted “when we determine the risk of violence has decreased,” CEO Susan Wojcicki said.
Wojcicki made the remarks during an interview Thursday with Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, a think tank.
Trump’s channel was blocked from uploading new videos after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, part of a wave of suspensions issued by all of the major social media platforms.
Snapchat and Twitter permanently banned Trump. Facebook turned over the decision of whether to allow Trump back on Facebook and Instagram to its oversight board. Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram remain suspended pending the board’s decision.
Throughout his presidency, social media companies wrestled with how
to moderate one of their most popular and volatile users.
Time and again, Trump tested the boundaries of what he could say, violating prohibitions against COVID-19 falsehoods, election misinformation and the glorification of violence.
The decision by social media platforms to block Trump’s access following the Capitol riot was praised by Trump critics and had the support of most Americans.
Trump’s Youtube account was temporarily suspended Jan. 12.
Youtube removed videos uploaded to Trump’s Youtube channel in which the former president warned that impeaching him for inciting violence at the Capitol would be “very dangerous for the USA.”
Youtube will monitor violent rhetoric on the platform and government warnings about violence to determine when Trump’s channel will be allowed to upload videos again, Wojcicki said.
“I do want to confirm that we will lift the suspension of the channel,” she said. “We will lift the suspension of the Donald Trump channel, when we determine that the risk of violence has decreased.”