Facebook suspends Trump accounts for two years

Facebook, the tech giant company yesterday announced that former US president Donald Trump accounts will be banned for two years. They further said that he deserved the maximum punishment for violating its rules over a deadly attack by his supporters on the US Capitol. The announcement comes as part of Facebook's response to the latest ruling from its indepedent Oversight Board in relation to its decision to ban Trump back in January, in the wake the Capitol riot, noted by the company on their newsroom.

According to the media reports, "Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr Trump's suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols," Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg explained.

Facebook has also announced new rules around political leaders, and what they can share on Facebook, will change as a result.

The company will now implement clearly defined penalties for suspensions, even those relating to significant incidents that could lead to broad-ranging social unrest.  

"The [Oversight Board] criticized the open-ended nature of [Trump's] suspension, stating that “it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension.” The board instructed us to review the decision and respond in a way that is clear and proportionate, and made a number of recommendations on how to improve our policies and processes", explained by Facebook.

As the company has considered Trump's initial suspension which was made on 7th January, 2021 can return to Facebook on  7th January, 2023. But Facebook could also decide that he still poses a significant risk to public debate.

Facebook has now established clearer, more transparent rules around such, and what the maximum penalties will be from now on, which is critically important in ensuring clearer guidance around its official processes.