Twitter has permanently suspended Donald Trump's account.

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Doug Mills / CNP / AdMedia / SIPA

  • Three days after the riots on Capitol Hill, orchestrated by pro-Trump activists, Twitter decided to permanently ban the American president's account.

  • "Today we are witnessing a real digital impeachment, even before an

    Impeachment

    procedure

     ",

    explains Florence G'sell, specialist in American digital law, and head of the digital chair at Sciences Po.

  • The responsibilities granted to major platforms and their power of censorship now worry many political figures.

It was his main communication tool.

By deciding Friday to permanently ban the account of the American president, the Twitter platform made a historic decision.

The @ realDonaldTrump account - followed by nearly 88 million people worldwide - now displays a totally blank page.

After Wednesday's assault by pro-Trump activists on Capitol Hill, several platforms have adopted retaliatory measures against the US president.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch and now Twitter have thus blocked Donald Trump's accounts for an indefinite period.

The responsibilities granted to the major platforms and their censorship power pose several questions today, and worry at the highest level.

Many political figures condemned this Saturday "the omnipotence" of Gafam in the public debate.

Are social networks legitimate to censor the American president?

Can the digital giants arrogate to themselves the power to control political speech, and public debate? 

20 Minute

s update with Florence G'sell, specialist in American digital law, head of the digital chair at Sciences Po, and teacher at the University of Lorraine.

After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https: //t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y

- Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021

Does Twitter have the right to suspend Donald Trump's account?

Using his personal Twitter account, @ realDonaldTrump, the US president was treated like any user of the social network.

“It was thus subject to the same conditions of use (CGU) as you or me”, explains the specialist in digital law.

“Social networks have the right to practice moderation on the basis of their T & Cs, because they are companies with private law contracts.

In the United States, platforms are also more protected thanks to the federal text - section 230 of the

Communications Decency Act 

- which guarantees them immunity for all their moderation decisions.

This means that the platforms are all powerful in this area, ”explains Florence G'sell.

But what complicates the situation today is that we are dealing with the President of the United States, who has an elective function, and this poses today "real problems of qualification" on the legal level.

"He represents the United States of America, and therefore his status on the platform is hardly comparable to that of any Internet user. @ RealDonaldTrump has an extremely ambiguous status because he was qualified in 2019, by American courts, of "public forum", that is to say that it is considered as a space of public debate, which is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States on the freedom of expression ", specifies the teacher.

“And this is where we are really in a very strong ambiguity.

Some will say that Twitter is only enforcing these terms of service, while others will say that the president's account has exceptional status ”.

There is nothing improbable about letting platforms make moderation decisions.

It just requires 1 / that they are based on clear and precise general conditions and 2 / an opportunity to challenge them - precisely what the Digital Services Act provides.

- Florence G'sell (@flogsell) January 9, 2021

"We are witnessing a digital impeachment, even before an Impeachment"

Anyway, the suspension of Donald Trump's account poses today "an obvious democratic problem", adds Florence G'sell who recalls that "Donald Trump nevertheless won the vote of more than 70 million voters Americans ”during the last presidential election.

"Preventing him from speaking out today is a decision that is extremely heavy, especially when we know that Twitter was the tool for the conquest of power from Donald Trump, the one who allowed him to earn as much support, and to build its political visibility ”.

Arnaud Mercier, professor of Information Communication at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, also wonders about the scope of such a decision.

"Is it healthy in a democracy, from the moment when social networks are tools of freedom of expression, that the sole owner of the network is granted the possibility of censoring its users?"

Asks the teacher.

“It's clearly censorship.

It remains to be seen whether we will accept, because it suits us in this specific case, the delegation of this censorship to a private company, ”explains Fabrice Epelboin, teacher at Sciences Po Paris, and social media specialist.

... while they have become real public spaces and bring together billions of citizens, it seems to say the least a bit short from a democratic point of view.

Beyond online hate, we need to invent a new form of democratic oversight.

- Cédric O (@cedric_o) January 9, 2021

The permanent suspension of the Twitter account of US President Donald Trump, "if it can be justified by a form of emergency prophylaxis, nonetheless raises fundamental questions", also said Saturday the Secretary of State for digital Cédric O. "The regulation of public debate by the main social networks with regard to their TOS alone, while they have become real public spaces and bring together billions of citizens, seems at least a little short from a point of view democratic, ”added the Minister.

“Beyond online hatred, we need to invent a new form of democratic supervision,” also explained Cédric O.

According to the specialist in American digital law, “today we are witnessing a real digital impeachment, even before an

Impeachment

procedure

.

It is not at all by chance that Twitter is making this decision a few days before the end of Donald Trump's mandate.

The social network is also in the process of deactivating many QAnon and pro-Trump accounts.

But as Zuckerberg has said in the past, it is not for the big platforms to be the arbiters of the truth, or of the public debate.

It is one thing today that we rely on the Gafams for the day-to-day management of flows, it is another to leave them so much responsibility in their hands, ”recognizes Florence G'sell.

A real problem that could "be transposed to France"

The decision taken by Twitter, in the name of a "risk of new incitement to violence" on the part of the outgoing US president, has in any case aroused many reactions in the French political class.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of rebellious France, estimated that "Trump's behavior cannot serve as a pretext for the Gafams to arrogate to themselves the power to control public debate", accusing "the Macron laws" of to have "legalized this private censorship".

Marine Le Pen, of the National Rally, sees it as a "real democratic coup de force on the part of large private groups who now consider that they have more power, and it is probably true, than a State" .

The behavior of #Trump cannot be used as a pretext for the #GAFA to assume the power to control public debate.

Macron laws have however legalized this private censorship. # TrumpBanned

- Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) January 9, 2021

“The decision taken by Twitter today poses a real problem, which we can also transpose to France,” recognizes Florence G'sell.

“The day when this kind of decision affects a French leader who garners a lot of votes, the legitimacy of the Gafam will be the subject of intense debate.

Apart from saying that it would be necessary to be able to reach an agreement at a supranational level, I have a great deal of difficulty seeing how at the national level of our country we could settle such major questions ”, adds the specialist in digital law .

“From the moment when social networks host accounts of political figures of great world powers, perhaps we should be able to make them safe?

», Asks the teacher today, stressing that this debate is likely to arise again in the coming months ...

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