When Twitter said it had banned Trump, some wondered how permanent the move really was. After all, Twitter long used the justification of “public interest” when explaining why the president was allowed to remain on the platform after saying things that would get other users banned. Following the Capitol riot, and as Trump would no longer be president just a few days following the ban, the public interest excuse didn’t mean much.
But what if he were to run for the position — or another government seat — again?
The company today clarified that the ban is indeed meant to be permanent. In an interview with CNBC, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said “when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform.” He further elaborated “our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence. He was removed when he was president and there’d be no difference for anybody who’s a public official once they’ve been removed from the service.”
So that’s that. While it seems unlikely Trump will stay silent forever — the Trump organization apparently tried to buy a major stake in Parler — at least we won’t have to see another tweetstorm from the former president again.
Facebook, for its part, has not yet clarified how long Trump’s ban will remain in effect. Although Zuckerberg said the president had been banned “indefinitely,” that doesn’t necessarily mean the same as “permanently.” For that, we’ll likely have to wait for a ruling from the company’s oversight board — the social media’s network’s equivalent of a supreme court on topics of moderation — which is currently reviewing the ban.