Trump did not breach Twitter’s terms of service

To discuss whether social media sites are able to ban former President Donald Trump, we must first discuss the validity of his social media bans. According to Twitter, Trump was banned for inciting violence against the capitol on January 6th, and for spreading false information. However, Trump initially tweeted that he wanted his supporters to protest against the capitol because he believes that there was corruption involving the voter count in the 2020 election. In his tweet, he never incited violence or spread false information because he genuinely believed that he lost due to unfair voting conditions and never said in his tweet that he supported violence against the capitol, he supported a protest. It was not him that incited violence but his protesters who decided to take the protest to the next level by injuring the capitol security and storming the capitol building. I believe that Trump should not have been banned in the first place due to his 1st amendment right. Since he technically did not incite the violence itself, he has the right to post any tweet, especially the one where he wanted to organize a peaceful protest. 

Ignoring the argument whether he should be banned and discussing whether a president can be banned, I believe that any person, no matter their occupation, can be banned from social media for justifiable reasons. While I acknowledge the argument that Trump shouldn’t be banned because social media was his way to communicate with the American public, there are other methods that former presidents have utilized such as FDR with the radio and JFK with the television. Trump could’ve easily broadcasted his messages to the American public by employing these methods, but chose not to and instead made a fool out of himself on social media. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have every right to fact-check, verify or control user content because it is part of the agreement when you are signing the terms and conditions. You are agreeing to give these companies complete control over what you post and complete power over your account once you sign up, no matter if you are a student, entrepreneur or world leader such as President of the United States.

By Kevin Klukowitz