Trump ‘Indefinitely’ Barred From Facebook, Instagram Accounts

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.”