Google extends ban on former President Trump’s channel

Former President Donald Trump’s YouTube channel remains blocked, the online video platform said Tuesday.

YouTube blocked Trump’s official channel from uploading new content for at least a week on January 12, citing the risk of violence following the deadly siege of the US Capitol on January 6.

“Given concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, Donald J. Trump’s channel remains suspended,” YouTube said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Our teams remain vigilant and are closely monitoring any new developments.”

The ban prevents new videos or live streams from being uploaded to the channel. Comments on the channel, which has almost 2.8 million subscribers, are also disabled indefinitely.

Internet outage: Major power outage affecting users from Washington, DC to Boston

Twitter ban: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was permanently banned after he continued Trump’s claims of victory

When YouTube suspended Trump’s channel, it removed a video in which the president told reporters that impeaching him for inciting violence at the Capitol would be “very dangerous for the United States.”

Before YouTube blocked Trump’s channel, Facebook and Instagram as well as Twitter and Snap had already blocked Trump after the Capitol riots. Facebook has banned Trump from the platforms indefinitely. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the time: “We believe the risks associated with allowing the President to continue using our service during this period are simply too great.”

Last week, Facebook referred to its oversight board the matter of restoring former President Trump’s access to his accounts. The board has 90 days to make a decision but is expected to do so more quickly.

Twitter permanently banned Trump on Jan. 8 “due to the risk of further incitement to violence,” the company said.

YouTube also removed the channel of Rudy Giuliani, a personal lawyer for the former president, from its partner program. According to YouTube, the temporary ban means Giuliani will not be able to monetize the channel.

The site’s policies prevent channels from making money – such as advertising revenue – with content about controversial topics, sensitive events, and harmful and dangerous actions. And recently, YouTube announced it would remove content that claimed widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Suspended channels can appeal or reapply for reinstatement within 30 days, provided the underlying issues that led to the suspension have been addressed, YouTube said.

Previously, YouTube removed a video podcast from Giuliani’s Giuliani channel in which he suggested that the day’s events and the Capitol insurrection were staged to make President Trump look bad.

Featuring: Jessica Guynn, Kelly Tyko

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: YouTube ban: Former President Trump’s channel remains suspended