Months after banning Donald Trump from his platform, Twitter is still wondering how he should treat politicians who break his rules. The company says it is “reviewing” its policies towards world leaders and other elected officials, and wants to hear from its users.
The company will release a public inquiry, which will be live from March 19 to April 12, to seek comment on the matter. “In general, we want to hear from the public about whether or not they think world leaders should be subject to the same rules as everyone else on Twitter,” the company wrote in a . “And, if a world leader breaks a rule, what kind of enforcement action is appropriate.”
The company added that it was also consulting academics and human rights activists on the matter. Feedback from these groups, as well as responses from the public, “will inform the development of our policy framework.” It is unclear which aspects of his existing policies he plans to reconsider. The company does not name Trump, but does refer to two from 2019 that explain why the company may apply its rules differently to world leaders.
Twitter isn’t the only company struggling with these issues in the wake of Trump. Facebook is still awaiting a decision from the Supervisory Board on whether the former president will be allowed to return to the platform. The Supervisory Board also plans the broader question of how Facebook manages the accounts of elected officials, across the company implement the recommendations of the board.