Trump banned from Facebook and Instagram indefinitely, says Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has said that President Donald Trump will be banned from Facebook and Instagram indefinitely.
In a statement on Thursday, the Big Tech billionaire said that the risks of allowing Trump to use its services are “simply too great.”
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg wrote in a statement on his personal Facebook page. “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.”
On Wednesday, Twitter and Facebook froze Trump’s accounts in response to the violence that unfolded on Capitol Hill, where at least four people died. One Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt, was shot and killed by the police when she attempted to break through a barricaded door in the halls of Congress.
In addition to locking his accounts, Twitter removed several of Trump’s posts, including a video in which he voiced his approval of his supporters’ actions.
YouTube likewise removed the same video for violating its policies against content alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 elections, but allowed other users to report the video if they added context when re-uploading it.
Zuckerberg says that Trump’s handling of the rioters “rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world,” adding that it crossed the line for Facebook.
Twitter told the Trump campaign that his account will be locked unless he deletes multiple posts in order to regain access to the platform. It has also threatened to throw him off the platform entirely, a reversal of its policies on the President’s often incendiary remarks.
Trump released a statement assenting to an orderly transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, but declined to concede the election results.
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