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ABC News showed an empty podium during December's Democratic presidential debate when Hillary Clinton left during a commercial break, failing to return before the debate resumed. | POLITICO Screen grab Fox Business Network to candidates: We won't show an empty podium

Fox Business Network is promising Republican presidential candidates it won't show an empty podium — with the expectation that all the candidates follow the rules.

The declaration, made in a memo obtained by POLITICO and sent to all campaigns ahead of the Jan. 14 debate in South Carolina, comes after the last Democratic debate, in which Hillary Clinton showed up late to a segment after sprinting to a restroom far from the stage. Though Fox Business representatives said they agree not to show an empty podium, they expect "the candidates to consider and follow Fox's guidance when leaving and returning to their podiums during commercial breaks. Bathrooms will be located back stage."

The format for the debate will be the same as the previous Fox Business debate: no opening statements, 90-second answers, 60-second rebuttals and 30-second closing statements.

Though there will be no written or video questions from Facebook, Facebook data will be integrated into some of the Fox Business questions. The network also promised that no "real time social media questions or comments" will be used in the debate "or appear on screen during the broadcast of the debate." During some of the previous debates, such as CNBC's Republican debate, live reactions on social media were rolled across the screen during the broadcast, leading to some uncomfortable pairings.