YouTube has suspended the account of Donald Trump indefinitely after the recent “policy breach” on Wednesday, 27 January, "in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence,” reported AFP. Trump's YouTube channel has 2.68 million subscribers.
The social media platform added that Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, will not be allowed to monetise his videos, and is exempt from the Partner Program for YouTube creators over posting false fraud claims about the recent US presidential election, reported AFP. Giuliani has 600,000 subscribers and can appeal this decision within 30 days.
Background
The Google-owned company extended its ban on Donald Trump’s account on 19 January, after suspending his account for a week when it received a strike under the platform’s policies. It was supposed to lift the ban a day before Biden’s inauguration, which was scheduled for 20 January.
Speaking to AFP, YouTube had said earlier, “In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J Trump channel will be prevented from uploading new videos or live streams”.
At the time, YouTube had removed a video of Trump addressing a mob attack on the Capitol on 7 January, because the President repeated false information about the outcome of the 2020 elections.
This development comes after a group of Trump supporters, whom he refers to as ‘patriots’, barged into the US Capitol and wreaked havoc on 6 January.
(With inputs from AFP)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)