Trump to Lose his Twitter ‘Public Interest’ Protections

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President Donald Trump will lose Twitter privileges he enjoys as a world leader when President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, 2021, The Verge reports.

Trump’s @realDonaldTrump account will subsequently 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 rule-breaking content online if there’s “a clear public interest value to keeping the tweet on the service.” The policy was formalised in 2019, codifying a rule that had been informally enforced 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 with clear context. This means that we may apply warnings and labels, and limit engagement to certain tweets. This policy framework applies to current world leaders and candidates for office, and not private citizens when they no longer hold these positions,” a Twitter spokesperson confirmed to The Verge.

These changes will reportedly cover only Trump’s personal account, as position-specific accounts like @WhiteHouse, @POTUS, and @FLOTUS are transfered to a new administration after an outgoing president steps down.

Twitter emphasises that world leaders can still be subject to enforcement if they promote terrorism, make direct threats of violence against an individual, post private information like someone’s home address, post intimate photos or videos without the subject’s consent, engage in behavior related to child sexual exploitation, or encourage self-harm. These rules apply regardless of a tweet’s public interest value.

Trump has repeatedly tested the platform’s boundaries with untrue or inflammatory tweets, forcing Twitter to restrict some of his posts like a May threat that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” which violated rules against glorifying violence, or a tweet attacking ballot drop boxes.

Also, Twitter and Facebook have posted warning labels on many Trump posts since election night, following baseless allegations of fraud and false claims about how voting works.

Trump’s most recent tweet reads, inaccurately, “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!!!”

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