Chief Executive Officer of Facebook and Instagram social media platforms, Mark Zuckerberg, has accused United States president Donald Trump of “violent insurrection” and extended the block on his accounts until after the transfer of power to president-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
Zuckerberg revealed the decision in a statement issued via Facebook on Thursday.
“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 of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. 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,” he stated.
Twitter had also blocked users from sharing U.S. President Donald Trump’s national address to his supporters who had clashed with police operatives at Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The violent turnout of the protests resulted in destruction of properties.
The decision by these big technological companies is coming months after Trump had urged the U.S. congress to limit the powers of the social media giants to sanction users.
Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has called on the American public to furnish it with information on identities of those who instigated violence at the congress building.
