Facebook, Instagram to block Trump's account for rest of his presidential term

Washington, January 7

Facebook Inc and Instagram will extend a ban on US President Donald Trump's accounts for at least the next two weeks until the presidential transition is completed, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said.

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Twitter Inc, Facebook, and Snap Inc temporarily locked Trump's accounts on Wednesday, as tech giants scrambled to crack down on his baseless claims about the US presidential election and hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.

"We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great," Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

Twitter initially suspended Trump's account for 12 hours and also blocked three of his tweets including a video of his address to his supporters.

“As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have required the removal of three realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy,” Twitter Safety said.

Twitter had also warned of permanent suspension of Trump's account if he continued to violate its policies.

“Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account,” it said. Reuters/PTI