'Trump: SNS Censorship Inevitable When Transitioning from President to Private Citizen'

President Trump Posted 4,000 False Tweets Until Last September Since Inauguration
Exempt from Post Censorship Due to 'Incumbent Premium'
Possibility of Post Censorship Measures After Leaving Office Raised
Brookings Institution: "Considering the Importance of Truth-Seeking, Post Censorship Is Unavoidable"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok, Kim Su-hwan] Attention is focused on whether the social network service (SNS) accounts of President Donald Trump, who is about to retire, will be subject to the same standards as ordinary users in the future. There is speculation that the exemption from content censorship privileges, which was provided to the 'incumbent president,' will disappear and his posts may become subject to censorship.

On the 8th (local time), a report from the Brookings Institution analyzed the possibility of applying censorship to President Trump's SNS accounts. According to the report, Twitter and Facebook did not apply censorship to false information posted on his accounts after his inauguration, unlike ordinary accounts. The Washington Post (WP) previously analyzed that he posted as many as 4,000 pieces of false information on Twitter from his inauguration until September 11.

The background for this censorship exemption benefit is that he is the incumbent president. In this regard, the Brookings Institution focused on the community guidelines of Twitter and Facebook. According to these guidelines, posts dealing with 'matters of public interest' can be excluded from censorship.

On October 28th (local time), Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, spoke via remote video call at a Senate hearing in Washington, USA, regarding content censorship by SNS companies. In his testimony, he stated that the reason for not censoring President Trump's posts was that, as the "incumbent president," his posts fall under matters of public interest. Washington, USA ? AP News

The Brookings Institution presented possible future scenarios regarding President Trump's SNS accounts. First, the current censorship exemption policy may be maintained. This is because Trump is expected to continue exerting considerable influence in the United States even after leaving office. However, in this case, there are concerns that he may post more extreme content as he is freed from the responsibilities of the presidency, which could worsen the problem of false information.

The second scenario is that he will be subject to the same status as other users. In this case, some of his posts may be deleted or his account temporarily suspended as sanctions. However, there are concerns that this could further deepen political polarization within the United States. WP has previously reported that Twitter's censorship measures may increase attention to those posts, leading to the spread of false information.

Finally, there is the possibility that his account could be permanently deleted due to repeated violations of guidelines. The Brookings Institution stated that SNS companies' 'three strikes' policy could be grounds for permanently suspending his account. However, there is also opposition arguing that this may not have a significant practical effect, as Trump could move from mainstream SNS platforms to 'Parler,' an SNS mainly used by conservative voters, and still maintain influence.

The Brookings Institution argued that censorship is inevitable regarding President Trump's SNS accounts. The report analyzed, "Although censorship measures carry some risks, the reason we must pursue the truth remains valid."

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