YouTube will lift ban on Donald Trump channel once ‘risk of violence’ decreases, CEO says

Susan Wojcicki said that the platform would determine the risk of violence by looking at signals such as government statements and warnings

YouTube suspended Trump’s channel after the assault on the US Capitol by the former president’s supporters in January

Reading Time:2 minutes

Former US president Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:08am, 5 Mar 2021Updated: 10:08am, 5 Mar 2021

Alphabet Inc’s YouTube will lift its suspension on former US president Donald Trump’s channel when it determines the risk of real-world violence has decreased, the company’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki, said on Thursday.

YouTube suspended Trump’s channel for violating policies against inciting violence after the assault on the US Capitol by the former president’s supporters in January.

“The channel remains suspended due to the risk of incitement to violence,” said Wojcicki, speaking in an interview with the head of the Atlantic Council think tank. She said recent warnings by the Capitol police about a potential new attack on Thursday showed that an “elevated violence risk still remains.”

Wojcicki said that YouTube would determine the risk of violence by looking at signals such as government statements and warnings, increased law enforcement around the country and violent rhetoric on the platform itself.

In the aftermath of the January 6 violence, social media companies including Twitter and Facebook banned Trump’s accounts on their platforms. Twitter’s ban is permanent, while Facebook has sent the case to its independent oversight board to decide whether Trump’s accounts should be unblocked.