Social-Media
Trump would sacrifice his defense to Twitter's public interest in January.
President Donald Trump will lose the Twitter privileges he enjoys as a world leader when President-Elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, 2021. Twitter has confirmed that Trump's @realDonaldTrump account will be subject to the same rules as any other user — including bans on inciting violence and posting false information about voting or the coronavirus pandemic.
Twitter applies special policies to world leaders and some other officials, leaving the rule-breaking content online if there is a clear public interest in keeping a tweet on the service. The policy of public interest was formalized in 2019, codifying a rule that had been applied informally for some time.
Twitter's approach to world leaders, candidates, and public officials is based on the principle that people should be able to choose to see what their leaders are saying in a clear context. This means that we can use warnings and labels and limit the use of certain tweets.
This policy framework applies to current world leaders and candidates for office, and not to private citizens when they no longer hold such positions, "the Twitter spokesperson confirms to The Verge.
These changes are going to cover Trump's personal account. Position-specific accounts such as @WhiteHouse, @POTUS, and @FLOTUS are transferred to the new administration following the resignation of the outgoing president.
Twitter emphasizes that world leaders may still be subject to enforcement if they promote terrorism, make direct threats of violence against individuals, post private information such as a home address, post intimate photos or videos without the consent of the subject, engage in child sexual exploitation behavior, or encourage self-harm. These rules apply irrespective of the value of the public interest of a tweet.
Unlike his predecessor Barack Obama, also an active user of Twitter, Trump has repeatedly tested the platform's boundaries with untrue or inflammatory tweets. Twitter also limited Trump's tweets including a May warning that when the looting begins, the shooting starts, which breaks laws about glorifying abuse, or a tweet that threatens the ballot boxes. But they're kept on the platform.
Twitter and Facebook have placed warning labels on a number of Trump tweets since the election night, following unfounded accusations of bribery and misleading statements on how voting operates. Trump's most recent tweet reads, incorrectly, I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!!!
