Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday that his company was extending a ban on President Donald Trump’s social media accounts, specifically on Facebook and Instagram. He said that the block was “indefinite” and would last for at least the following two weeks until there is a peaceful transition of power in the US.
It was said that this decision aimed at ending years of President Trump using social media platforms to disseminate misinformation and induce violence among his followers and supporters.
In a message written on his own Facebook profile, Mark Zuckerberg said: “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
He also added: “Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
Trump supporters rioted throughout the Capital. The president uploaded a video telling his followers to go home but he continued to say that there was a fraud and the election was stolen.
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube eventually deleted the video.
After the violent events, Zuckerberg stated: “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the U.S. and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect—and likely their intent—would be to provoke further violence.”
“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” he added.
Twitter also said on Wednesday that President Trump’s account would be permanently suspended if he improperly use the platform again and continues to violate any other of the site’s rules.
“Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account,” the Twitter Safety account tweeted.
