Donald Trump will be allowed back on YouTube when terror threat eases

Io Dodds
·5 min read
Donald Trump reaches out one black-gloved hand to point into the camera as he addresses his supporters just before the storming of the US Capitol on Jan 6. His black gloves, bulky black greatcoat and black lectern bearing the President's seal contrast sharply with his white shirt cuffs and the pillars of the White House behind him, as well as the bright red stripes of an American flag fluttering nearby. All of this is happening behind a transparent coronavirus shield, making it look as if he is speaking from inside a giant television screen, hovering eerily above the White House Lawn. - Jim Bourg/Reuters
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Donald Trump will be allowed to return to YouTube and post videos again once the risk of political violence in the US subsides, the company has said.

YouTube's chief executive Susan Wojcicki confirmed on Thursday that the former President will be given a second chance to follow its rules, though she did not say when.

The Google-owned streaming service had previously given no indication whether it would ever lift Mr Trump's indefinite ban, which was imposed the wake of the rioting at the US Capitol building in January.

Ms Wojcicki's statement sets YouTube firmly against rivals such as Twitter, which has vowed never to allow Mr Trump back even if he runs for office again, and Facebook, which has referred the case to be decided by its independent Oversight Board.

It came as US officials once again put the Capitol on high alert due to warnings from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security that members of the QAnon movement might be plotting an attack on March 4.

The Capitol grounds were ringed with boosted security and defended by armed police officers, National Guard troops and bomb-sniffing dogs, while the House of Representatives cancelled its session and warned legislators' staff to stay away.

Three members of the US National Guard stand ready in front of a chipped concrete portable roadblock in the cold morning light, as the vast neoclassical bulk and ivory-hued dome of the US Capitol building looms behind them, half bright and half in blue shadow. All three soldiers wear pale blue surgical masks, woollen beanie caps and military fatigues with bulletproof vests and numerous pockets. Two are carrying assault rifles, probably M4 carbines, but showing proper trigger discipline. - Sarah Silbiger/Getty

Speaking in a live stream with the Atlantic Council, Ms Wojcicki said: "Given the warnings by the Capitol Police yesterday about a potential attack today, I think it's pretty clear that that elevated violence risk still remains.

"However, I do want to confirm that we will lift the suspension of the Donald Trump channel – when we determine that the risk of violence has decreased. When the channel is reinstated, it will be subject to the same policies that every other channel follows."

She added that YouTube would judge the risk of violence according to US government and law enforcement warnings, as well as the findings of its own intelligence team, which monitors what users are saying and posting on its service.

Having access to YouTube again could transform Mr Trump's chances of a political revival this year, allowing him to address his followers directly in a way he has struggled to do since his mass deplatforming by Silicon Valley in January.

However, it could also allow him to resume pumping out misinformation, conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric to his supporters, whom polls suggest largely still believe that the 2020 election was stolen and who still have a commanding influence over the Republican Party.

On Tuesday, a group of academics and misinformation researchers accused YouTube of playing a key role in spreading the extremist ideas that led to the storming of the Capitol by hosting compilations of bunk "evidence" and hard-to-police live streams.

In its final report, the Election Integrity Partnership said YouTube had "provided a space for video-format misinformation that could be shared easily across [other] platforms", helping to "consolidate otherwise disparate narratives".

YouTube imposes escalating penalties on its channels each time they break its rules, starting with a week-long ban and ending in permanent removal. Mr Trump had only received one out of three strikes, but his ban was extended on the grounds of avoiding further violence.

Ms Wojcicki also aimed veiled criticism at Facebook and Twitter for their policy of exempting political leaders from some of their rules, putting warning labels on posts that would normally be removed if they are "newsworthy" or in the "public interest".

"[Our] policies apply to all global leaders consistently. There are no exceptions," she said. "I think it's a very dangerous path to say that some people have a free pass and that they can say whatever they want but the rules don't apply to them."

Susan Wojcicki, a tanned white woman in her forties with a curly wave of dark blonde hair, grins at some off-screen event as she stands in front of wall of red and black YouTube logos. It is a broad, toothy grin, her chin appearing slightly tucked back into her neck, as one sometimes offers (perhaps a little sheepishly) when accepting praise or thanks. - FIlmMagic

QAnon believers had fixated on March 4 as the day when Mr Trump would return to power in a long-prophesied military coup, having missed his original deadline when Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20.

The prediction depended on a tortuous legal theory that the US as a nation state ceased to exist in 1871, making all presidents since then illegitimate and negating reforms in 1937 that moved the handover of power from March to January.

The FBI's bulletin warned that in late February some militant groups "discussed plans to take control of the US Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about March 4". The Capitol Police made a similar statement, though it described the threats as "aspirational".

On Wednesday there was no sign of protesters outside the high fences topped by razor wire that now surround the Capitol. However, security officials said that the threat is ongoing and not confined to this week, with the FBI maintaining 2,000 open cases dealing with domestic extremists.