Donald Trump

Facebook Suspends Trump for 2 Years, Keeping Him Off for Next Election

Facebook suspended the then-president in January for inciting violence; the company's Oversight Board said the indefinite suspension went too far

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Facebook has suspended Donald Trump for two years, keeping the former president off the social network through next year's mid-term elections.

The social network suspended Trump's accounts indefinitely on January 7 over the Capitol riots and allegations the then-president had helped incite the violence.

Facebook's Oversight Board, in a ruling early last month, said the suspension itself was appropriate, but its indefinite nature was not, and it required the company to come up with new guidelines.

Facebook rolled out those new standards Friday, with suspension terms of anywhere from one month to two years for public figures during times of civil unrest.

"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 said in a blog post.

"When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr. Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts."

His two-year suspension is retroactive to Jan. 7, meaning his accounts won't be restored any sooner than Jan. 7, 2023 -- after the next mid-term elections and the new Congress is sworn into office.

The former president has criticized moves by social networks to restrict his accounts as a "total disgrace and embarrassment."

This is a developing story.

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