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Trump used his Twitter account @realDonaldTrump very frequently to spread statements, accusations and misinformation, but no action was taken against him for most of his presidential term.
Critics have criticized Trump’s decision to permanently block Twitter, arguing that the president has not received any penalties for abuse for a long time. However, the move caused outrage among members of the far-right camp, equating the fact-finding with a restriction on freedom of expression.
Photo by Scanpix / Donald Short
“After carefully reviewing recent posts on the @realDonaldTrump account, we have permanently suspended this account due to the risk of further incitement to violence,” a message posted on a Twitter blog explaining the decision.
On Friday night, Twitter blocked Trump’s efforts to circumvent the ban.
The president published a series of messages through the official account @POTUS of the president of the United States, accusing the social media company of conspiring with the “radical left.” Twitter quickly deleted these posts.
Trump also posted statements through his election campaign account @TeamTrump, but this too was quickly blocked.
“It is against the rules to use another account to try to avoid a freeze,” Twitter told AFP.
“We have taken steps to implement this [taisyklę] recent posts on his @POTUS account, “the message read.
After the assault on the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Twitter temporarily blocked Trump’s account and warned that the decision could become permanent.
His account was suspended on Friday after two messages were posted on it. In one of them, Trump promised that none of his supporters would show “disrespect.” In another, the president said he would not attend his inauguration ceremony, Joe Biden, on January 20, in violation of tradition.
“These two messages should be viewed in the context of broader developments in the country, given that the president’s statements can mobilize a variety of audiences, including incitement to violence, as well as [vertinant] in the context of the nature of the behavior on this account in recent weeks ”, highlighted Twitter.
“We understand the desire now to permanently block it,” said Kate Ruane, senior legal counsel for the American Civil Rights Union (ACLU).
“But everyone should be concerned when companies like Facebook and Twitter use unrestricted power to get people off platforms that have become indispensable for talking to billions,” he warned.
Trump has a team of spokespersons and can easily speak through supportive outlets like Fox News TV, but other people who might be blocked by social media don’t have that opportunity, Ruane said.
The social media company has the right to decide at its own discretion what is published on its platforms and to establish rules about what content is inappropriate. Amendment 1 to the United States Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, does not allow it to be restricted by the government, but it does not apply to private companies.
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