Facebook Bans Events Near DC And State Capitols Over Inauguration Concerns

In light of safety concerns surrounding the upcoming US presidential inauguration, Facebook has decided to ban events on its platform that would take place near the US Capitol building and White House. As well, the platform has also banned new events that would take place near state capitols until after Inauguration Day.

Soon after the events that took place at the US Capitol last week, social media posts began surfacing with indications that rioters are planning a second attack in DC, one that will aim to disrupt the Presidential Inauguration. As well, law enforcement has warned that some groups may be planning to target state capitol buildings.

Facebook has announced a number of changes on its platform in light of these concerns, one of which is banning the creation of new events near capitol buildings and the White House until after the inauguration. In addition to preventing these new events from being created, the company also says that its team is conducting a 'secondary review' of all events on the platform related to the inauguration.

Any events found to violate the company's policies will be removed, Facebook said. As well, the platform is still preventing non-US based accounts and Pages from creating events in the US.

Beyond that, Facebook says that it will use various signals like repeated policy violations to prevent some US-based accounts from accessing certain features like creating events, live-streaming videos, and making new Groups or Pages. Earlier today, the company said that it is also banning advertisements for protective equipment and weapon accessories in the US through January 22, at minimum.