A Twitter spokesperson told Forbes Magazine Thursday that once President Trump becomes an ordinary citizen, his lies and conspiracy theories could get him banned.
The outgoing president is currently shielded by Twitter’s World Leaders Policy
which was created on the basis that most people want to see what their leaders are saying. Trump has used the policy to his advantage attacking other leaders, the press and more recently pushing wildly unfounded and debunked theories about the coronavirus and the presidential election.However, on Jan. 20, Trump will no longer be shielded by the policy and will be forced to follow the same guidelines as everyone else on the site. Meaning Trump could face suspensions from the site and could eventually be permanently banned from the site.
A first-time offender may be locked out of the site until they delete the tweet, but a second offender could be locked out of their account for half a day. The site locked out Donald Trump Jr. for 12 hours when he tweeted a false claim about hydroxychloroquine.
Twitter does not have a specific limit on how many times a person can violate their policy before being permanently banned.
Trump, reading the tea leaves, threatened to veto a defense spending bill unless Congress repeals Section 230, which gives social media and big tech platforms the power to moderate content and protects them from lawsuits relating to speech.
Twitter has strengthened its rules and guidelines in recent months to stop the spread of false information concerning the election and the coronavirus pandemic. That has led many Republicans to join Parler, a self-described, unbiased social media app, that has become a home for Republicans, far-right activists and conspiracy theorists.
But even Parler’s free speech has its limits. According to NBC News, the site has banned people who sign up to troll Republicans.