Trump ‘Indefinitely’ Barred From Facebook, Instagram Accounts

January 7, 2021 by Reece Nations
Trump ‘Indefinitely’ Barred From Facebook, Instagram Accounts
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

PALO ALTO, Calif. — After initially stating they would freeze President Donald Trump’s access to its services for a 24-hour period, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday the platform would ban the accounts “indefinitely.” 

Zuckerberg made the announcement via a post on his personal Facebook page, the full text of which can be read here. In the post, Zuckerberg said Trump’s behavior over the past day demonstrates the president’s intentions to undermine the “peaceful and lawful transition of power” to President-elect Joe Biden with his remaining time in office. 

“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’s post read. “We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.”

For this reason, Facebook extended Trump’s ban on its platforms at least until the transition into the Biden-Harris administration is complete, Zuckerberg wrote. At times, Facebook would remove or label Trump’s posts if they violated the site’s policies, but stopped short of freezing the president’s access to the accounts until recently. 

Other social media platforms appear to have followed suit. Twitter froze Trump’s account for a 12-hour period while warning that his handle @realDonaldTrump would be banned permanently if the president again violates the platform’s policies regarding the glorification of violence or violent acts

Similarly, Snapchat also moved to restrict Trump’s social media account with the platform following the events following Trump’s rally in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. Snapchat’s community guidelines also prohibit incitements of violence and the spread of misinformation.

“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,” Zuckerberg’s post continued. “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 [sic] of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.” 

A+
a-
  • 2020 Election
  • Donald Trump
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Social Media

    April 15, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Meta’s Zuckerberg Defends Against Allegations of Monopoly Tactics

    WASHINGTON — Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg testified for a second day Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., court that... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg testified for a second day Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., court that his company has encouraged the growth of social media but not the anticompetitive dominance alleged by the Federal Trade Commission. The trial in the antitrust case... Read More

    April 11, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Social Media Personality ‘Doctor Mike’ to Speak at National Press Club

    WASHINGTON — YouTube personality “Doctor Mike” Varshavski, whose bête noire is health misinformation on social media and in the pod-o-sphere,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — YouTube personality “Doctor Mike” Varshavski, whose bête noire is health misinformation on social media and in the pod-o-sphere, will speak at the National Press Club on Friday, May 30. The Headliners event will begin with dinner in the club’s ballroom at 8 p.m. and... Read More

    March 10, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Cyberattack Puts X on Ice as Social Media Platform Suffers Multiple Outages

    WASHINGTON — If at first you don’t succeed, hit retry and retry and retry again. That was the message from... Read More

    WASHINGTON — If at first you don’t succeed, hit retry and retry and retry again. That was the message from Elon Musk’s X as the social media platform experienced multiple outages on Monday. Musk attributed the outages to a "massive" and unusual cyberattack. “We get attacked... Read More

    January 10, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Justices Seem Inclined to Uphold Law That Could Shut Down TikTok

    WASHINGTON — Over the course of more than two hours of oral arguments, a majority of Supreme Court justices appeared... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Over the course of more than two hours of oral arguments, a majority of Supreme Court justices appeared to be inclined to uphold a federal law passed last year that would require that TikTok be sold or face being shut down in the United... Read More

    January 8, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Meta Faces Legal Challenges as It Ends Fact-Checking Program

    WASHINGTON — Social media giant Meta appears to be headed into a legal quagmire after its chief executive officer announced... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Social media giant Meta appears to be headed into a legal quagmire after its chief executive officer announced Tuesday his company would cease fact-checking and censorship of controversial material in user posts on Facebook and Instagram. Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the censorship... Read More

    December 6, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    TikTok Loses Appeal to Block Forced Sale of US Operations

    WASHINGTON — The days appear to be numbered for TikTok in the United States after a Washington, D.C., federal appeals... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The days appear to be numbered for TikTok in the United States after a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court’s decision Friday that would force a sale of the social media giant. The court’s decision upholds a law signed by President Joe Biden in April... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top