Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that US President Donald Trump will be banned from posting on the platform for the next two weeks.
This follows violence at the US Capitol, where a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the government building. This resulted in the evacuation of government staff as the crowd took over the building.
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Critics accused the president of personally encouraging the incident during a rally at the White House. He also continued to post claims of election fraud on social media during the riot.
As a result, both Facebook and Twitter locked Trump out of his accounts temporarily.
But now, Zuckerberg has taken this further. He announced that the president will not be allowed to use his Facebook account for the rest of his term.
“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,” Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post.
He said that Trump’s decision to condone the actions of the crowd led to the extension of the temporary ban.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg said.
“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.”
Trump gets Twitter account back
In the meantime, Twitter has restored the president’s account. Trump has since released a video statement committing to a smooth transition of power. He also condemned the storming of the Capitol.
It’s unclear whether this turnabout in Trump’s tone will result in a reversal of Facebook’s decision. Trump posted the video on Twitter around nine hours after Zuckerberg announced the Facebook ban.
Feature image: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
