YouTube Restores Privileges to Donald Trump’s Account

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YouTube suspended former President Donald J. Trump’s account on the platform six days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The video platform said it was concerned that Mr. Trump’s lies about the 2020 election could lead to more real-world violence.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, reversed that decision on Friday, allowing Mr. Trump to re-upload videos on the popular site. The move comes after similar decisions by Twitter and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.

“We’ve carefully evaluated the ongoing risk of real-world violence, while balancing the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election,” YouTube said on Twitter on Friday. . The account of Mr. Trump has to abide by the site’s content rules like any other account, YouTube added.

After false claims to have stolen the 2020 presidential election spread online and aided in the January 6 attack, the social media giant suspended Mr. Trump. Two years later, platforms have started to soften their content rules. Under Elon Musk’s ownership, Twitter has eliminated many of its content moderation efforts. YouTube recently fired members of its trust and safety team, leaving one person in charge of setting policies on political misinformation.

Mr. Trump announced in November that he was seeking a second term as president, setting off deliberations with social media companies on whether to allow him back on their platforms. Days later, Mr. Musk polled Twitter users on whether he should bring back Mr. Trump, and 52 percent of respondents said yes. Like YouTube, Meta said in January that it’s important for people to hear what political candidates have to say before an election.

The former president’s reinstatement is one of the first significant content decisions YouTube has made under its new chief executive, Neal Mohan, who took the top job last month. YouTube also recently relaxed its profanity rules so that creators who use profanity at the beginning of a video can still make money from the content.

YouTube’s announcement on Friday reflects a pattern of the company and its parent Google making polarizing content decisions after a competitor takes the same action. YouTube followed Meta and Twitter in suspending Mr. Trump after the attack on the Capitol, and on the return of the bans.

Since losing his bid for re-election in 2020, Mr. Trump succeeds with his own social media service, Truth Social, known for lax content moderation rules.

Mr. Trump on Friday posted on his Facebook page for the first time since his reinstatement. “I’M BACK!” Mr. Trump wrote, along with a video in which he said, “Sorry for keeping you waiting. Complicated business. Messy.”

Despite his comeback on Twitter, Mr. Trump for posting from that account.

In his last tweet, dated January 8, 2021, he said he will not attend the upcoming inauguration, which will be held at the Capitol.

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