- Facebook CEO announces that President Donald Trump has been banned from using the social media app indefinitely
- CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the ban will remain due to the uncertainty of how the outgoing President will be following protests and riots inside the Capitol building on Wednesday
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19
Facebook has announced that President Donald Trump will be barred from using the platform for at least the next two weeks and probably ‘indefinitely’.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the outgoing president will remain banned from the social media platform.
In a blog post, Zuckerberg said:
“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.”
The decision marks a major escalation by Facebook as it and other platforms have come under intense pressure from advocacy groups and prominent figures to ban Trump following his inflammatory rhetoric encouraging insurrection.
Facebook and Twitter took the extraordinary step on Wednesday of temporarily blocking President Donald Trump’s account on their platforms after his supporters stormed the Capitol building to protest the election.
If the latest restrictions hold, Facebook could be the first major platform to remove Trump permanently.
Facebook’s move now raises expectations for Twitter to follow suit. Twitter has confirmed that Trump deleted several tweets in order to regain his tweeting privileges sometime on Thursday, though the company declined to say when precisely he would be able to tweet again.
Twitter also said that “future violations… will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”