US President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter for good less than two weeks before leaving office.
Twitter announced the move late Friday, saying it had “scrutinized” the president’s recent tweets and receipts and concluded that two tweets on Friday related to violence at or around the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden Could Lead Later This Month.
Twitter previously blocked Trump’s access for 12 hours on Wednesday after a mob of presidential supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol, searched congressional offices and interrupted the joint session to approve the votes of the electoral college that Biden won in the election confirmed last year. Five people died in the uprising, including four presidential supporters and a Capitol Police officer.
Donald Trump’s personal Twitter handle.
“In connection with terrible events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter rules would possibly lead to exactly this course of action. Our public interest framework enables the public to hear directly from elected officials and world leaders. It is based on the principle that people have the right to hold power to account, ”said Twitter’s statement on Friday.
The company quoted on Friday the president’s tweets saying his supporters would be “in no way, form, or form disregarded or treated unfairly,” and the other announced on Jan. 20 that he would not Will attend Biden’s inauguration.
“These two tweets must be read in the context of wider events in the country and the way in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by various audiences, including incitement to violence, as well as the pattern of behavior on this report over the past few weeks “Said Twitter.
Team Trump banned from tech
Twitter joins Facebook (and Instagram), Snapchat, and Twitch as some of the platforms to remove Trump’s pages in the past few days. Each of these companies started with permanent or temporary suspensions on Wednesday. Twitch and Facebook have indicated that Trump may regain access after the inauguration.
Read more: Decentralization and What Section 230 Really Means for Free Speech
Shopify has also blocked the Trump campaign digital store, while YouTube announced changes that could ban accounts that spread election misinformation.
On Friday, Reddit banned its R / DonaldTrump community and a moderator from its R / conspiracy community. While a specific reason for the subreddit ban was not given, the moderator was banned for “inciting communities” and violating the website’s content guidelines, according to Daily Dot.
Apple has also threatened to ban the Parler social media app if it doesn’t pass content moderation guidelines, while Google Play has made Apple better by suspending Parler until a lack of “robust moderation for outrageous content” “is fixed. Google said it took the action “in the face of this ongoing and urgent threat to public safety”. In the meantime, Discord has banned its “The Donald” server connected to pro-Trump communities (including the former Reddit site r / TheDonald, which was banned last year for “harassment, hate speech and content manipulation”, reported Gizmodo).
Read more: In Trump Versus Twitter, Decentralized Tech Can Win
Earlier on Friday, Twitter had banned a number of accounts showing support for QAnon’s internet conspiracy, including former National Security Advisor and retired General Michael Flynn, and Trump attorney Sidney Powell.
The payment platform Stripe suspended the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, on Friday.
The video streaming platform DLive also announced on Friday that it would block several accounts in connection with the unrest on Wednesday.
Twitter’s share price fell after the close of trading on the news, trading at $ 50.40 after closing at $ 51.48 on Friday.
UPDATE (January 9, 2021, 12:20 AM UTC): Added additional context and information.
UPDATE (January 9, 2021, 01:30 UTC): It has been added that Google Play has suspended Parler from its Play Store.
