Trump blocked from Facebook, Instagram accounts for at least remainder of presidency

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEWS 1130) – Donald Trump won’t be able to access his Facebook or Instagram accounts “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks” after the company that owns both social media channels extended its ban Thursday.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the news on his account, saying, “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.”

Facebook originally imposed a 24 hour ban on Trump’s accounts Wednesday in the wake of violent mobs of people storming the Capitol building, where lawmakers were getting set to certify Biden’s presidential win.

Twitter was the first social media giant to take action against Trump, however, it only blocked his account for 12 hours to start.

The decisions were prompted by posts on Wednesday “for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy,” Twitter said.

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1346970431039934464

 

“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 US and around the world,” Zuckerberg said Thursday. “We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.”

The Facebook CEO added that the priority for the U.S. should now be on ensuring that the remaining days ahead of Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20 “pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.”

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Decisions to only temporarily prevent Trump from accessing his social media accounts have come under fire by many who say they should be permanently blocked.

Trump has been vocal on social media throughout his presidency. Wednesday’s violence and chaos have been largely blamed on Trump and his inflammatory comments.

“Over the last several years, we have allowed President Trump to use our platform consistent with our own rules, at times removing content or labeling his posts when they violate our policies. We did this because we believe that the public has a right to the broadest possible access to political speech, even controversial speech. But the current context is now fundamentally different, involving use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government,” Zuckerberg said, adding the “risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”

Four people died in the violent clashes at the Capitol building, where the angry mob loyal to Trump stormed the building, breaking windows and doors and forcing lawmakers to shelter in place.

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