Mark Zuckerberg announces that Trump is banned indefinitely from Facebook and Instagram
The president's inaccurate tweets and his repeated violations of the social platform's terms of service have led to his banishment
Following the riots at the Capitol Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that outgoing president Donald Trump has been banned indefinitely from both Facebook and Instagram.
Thursday, Zuckerberg posted a statement to Facebook explaining that the ban will last for at least the rest of Trump’s presidency.
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“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 wrote.
“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. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence,” Zuckerberg continued, a clear response to past criticisms about his lack of urgency when it comes to those who use his social media platforms to spew hate and share propaganda.
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The 36-year-old then notes, “The priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.”
He continued, “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 concludes by conceding, “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. 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.”
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