YouTube Will Reinstate Donald Trump’s Channel After ‘Risk of Violence Has Decreased,’ CEO Says (PC: Donald Trump/Getty Images/Susan Wojcicki/Instagram)
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LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said the internet video platform will lift its suspension of Donald Trump only after it determines that “the risk of violence has decreased.”
On Jan. 12, YouTube determined that Trump’s channel violated the site’s policy against inciting violence, resulting in a suspension of least seven days. YouTube’s strike against the ex-president’s channel came nearly a week after he incited a mob of supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in order to disrupt the certification of President Biden’s election win.
Donald Trump‘s channel “remains suspended due to the risk of incitement to violence,” Wojcicki said Thursday during a discussion hosted by Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think-tank.
“Given the warnings by the Capitol Police yesterday about a potential attack today, I think it’s pretty clear that that elevated violence risk still remains,” she continued, referring to bizarre online conspiracy theories that Trump would somehow return as president on March 4.
When Trump’s channel is reinstated, it will be subject to the same policies as any other channel, Wojcicki said. “Where we stand today, it’s hard for me to say when that’s going to be, but it’s pretty clear that right now where we stand that there still is that elevated risk of violence.” (Watch the full discussion at this link.)
YouTube will evaluate multiple “signals” to determine if the threat of violence has decreased, according to Wojcicki, including guidance from U.S. law enforcement and the level of violent rhetoric that YouTube monitors on the platform.
Donald Trump was banned or suspended by numerous other internet platforms over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Twitter has permanently banned Trump, while Facebook indefinitely suspended the former U.S. president. Facebook has referred the question of whether Trump will be reinstated on Facebook or Instagram to the company’s recently established Oversight Board, and the social giant promises to abide by the board’s decisions.
