Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has announced that accounts of President Donald Trump has been banned and blocked indefinitely from Facebook and Instagram and “for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
Initially, Trump’s account had been blocked for a shorter period of time; however, Zuckerberg said on Thursday that an extension was necessary in the interest of a peaceful transition of power to the incoming president-elect Joe Biden.
Making the announcement on his Facebook timeline Zuckerberg said:
“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.
“His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.
“Following the certification of the election results by Congress, the priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.
