Twitter permanently suspends Trump's accounts, cites 'incitement of violence' risk

Washington DC, January 09: Taking strict action against US POTUS social media giant Twitter has now permanently banned the personal account of Donald Trump which had 88.7 million followers. Twitter took this action citing the "risk of further incitement of violence".

 

Twitter’s move marks the first time the social media platform banned a head of state. Besides his official account, Twitter has also suspended the handle of @Team Trump after President Trump used the latter account to release a statement.

 

In a blog post, Twitter said, “After a close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” The social media giant had earlier warned on Wednesday that further ‘violations’ of its rules by the US President would result in the termination of the account.

 

  

 

 

Twitter further added, “Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.” It added that such elected leaders are not out of the purview of Twitter rules and cannot use the social media platform to provoke violence. “We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement,” Twitter noted.

 

 

Twitter added, "However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules and cannot use Twitter to incite violence. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement."

 

Reacting to the Twitter ban, Trump said, "I predicted this would happen. We have been negotiating with various other sites, and will have a big announcement soon, while we also look at the possibilities of building out our platform in the near future."

 

 

 

Indicating some announcement in this regard is forthcoming, Donald Trump said, "Twitter is not about FREE SPEECH. They are all about promoting a Radical Left platform where some of the most vicious people in the world are allowed to speak freely. STAY TUNED!"

 

Moments after Donald Trump's statement, Twitter Inc banned suspended the Team Trump account. Earlier, Twitter had temporarily blocked Donald Trump's account, following the siege of Capitol Hill by pro-Trump protesters, and warned that additional violations by the president's accounts would result in a permanent suspension.

 

Moreover, Tech giant Google has also removed conservative social media app, Parler, from its Play Store allegedly for allegedly giving a platform to egregious content like posts that incite violence. Not just Google, even Apple has warned Parler of suspension. Apple has given 24 hours to Parler to submit a detailed moderation plan and demanding them to act against participants, who allegedly used the service to coordinate protests of the US Capitol building. This has come days after, pro-Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol.