YouTube extends ban on Donald Trump’s channel

YouTube has extended the ban on the channel of former US President Donald Trump.

The video-sharing platform had suspended Trump’s official channel on January 12. The suspension meant the channel would not be able to post new videos. Comments under the existing videos will also remain barred. YouTube said it had revisited the issue and decided to continue the suspension.

“In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J Trump channel will remain suspended,” a YouTube spokesperson is quoting as saying. “Our teams are staying vigilant and closely monitoring for any new developments.”

Social networking platforms took unprecedented steps to counter the spread of misinformation, fake news and hate speech during and after the US Presidential elections. The internet companies took down several accounts among other measures. Twitter, for instance, labelled posts including those from Trump.

After the Capitol attack incident on January 6, internet firms banned Trump from their platforms.

Facebook recently said it had referred the decision to suspend Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely to its Oversight Board.

“Today, Facebook is referring its decision to indefinitely suspend former US President Donald Trump’s access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts to the independent Oversight Board,” Facebook’s VP of Global Affairs and Communications, Nick Clegg wrote in a blog post.

Apart from Twitter and Facebook, Twitch has also imposed an indefinite ban on Trump and even removed his account. "The President’s statements continue to be interpreted as calls to action, and we are taking this action to remove the potential for harm to our community and the general public," a Twitch spokesperson had said.