The Memo: Feels like the first time: Kanye West’s Twitter Suspension 2.0

Amy Howe - 05th December 2022

Kanye West has been suspended from Twitter… again. Yep, you read that right. This comes just 11 days after the controversial reinstatement of West’s account after it was first suspended on October 9 following a string of anti-Semitic tweets. West’s was one of many accounts publicly reinstated to the social media company following Musk’s acquisition; former US President Donald Trump and controversial figure Andrew Tate were also welcomed back to the platform. Musk has since clarified that he had no role in West’s reinstatement.

Just last week, Musk took to the app to launch a poll asking users to vote on whether the platform should offer amnesty to suspended accounts which have not broken the law. It’s unclear which laws the billionaire was referring to. The poll received over 3.1 million votes, with over 72% of users voting ‘Yes’ to amnesty. Accounts which currently remain suspended include that of right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins, and Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

West’s second suspension comes after his tweet containing an image of a swastika inside the Star of David was deemed a violation of Twitter’s rule against incitement to violence. Twitter’s ‘Violent threats policy’ states that accounts must not engage in the threatening of violence against an individual or a group of people, and also forbids the glorification of violence. Trump’s ban from the platform in January 2021 was a result of his account’s violation of these terms. While the United States’ First amendment protects the freedom of speech, speech which seeks to incite or produce “imminent lawless action” is considered unlawful. There are widespread concerns over whether the reinstatement of controversial accounts risks future breaches of the law.