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Donald Trump’s time away from Washington has only been a month, but his name still echoes after a second impeachment acquittal and Twitter’s decision to ban the former president permanently. In a rare statement, the social media giant said the following:
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.
“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.
“However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.”
Trump’s suspension is viewed by some pundits as a violation of the former president’s First Amendment rights, but other legal professionals argue inciting violence is not a protected act.
“This is really interesting. Very strong, very deliberate language from the CFO of Twitter,” Fortalice Solutions CEO Theresa Payton said on WBT’s Bo Thompson Morning Show Wednesday.
“Basically saying, even if, former president Trump runs for president again, he’s permanently banned from Twitter. And they basically say that is in accordance with their policies.”
At the same time, Parler, a rival to Twitter and Facebook, comes back online after being dropped by AWS. But, the conservative friendly social media site isn’t allowing new users to join. Existing accounts that were established before Amazon dumped the one-time client will be able to live on as part of a deal with Parler’s new host.
Payton also details a ransomware attack at Central Piedmont Community College. Listen to the entire interview with the cybersecurity expert below.
