Twitter permanently suspends Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Twitter shares fell more than 8% in the premarket on Monday, the first trading session since the social media company permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account.
Twitter said on Friday that it made the decision to remove the president “due to the risk of further incitement to violence” after the deadly riot at the United States Capitol.
The move is likely to rekindle legislation to repeal Section 230, the law that protects internet companies from liability for posting content users, according to analyst notes. Trump voiced his disdain for Section 230, and some politicians from both parties complained about it.
“While a Democratic government may be less focused on significant Section 230 reform, recent events may make content legislation more likely,” analysts at BofA Securities said in a note to customers. Still, the company reiterated its purchase rating for the shares.
“We would anticipate new legislation proposed in Congress on social media content due to recent events, but we note that concerns about content are not new and we think the new laws will provide social media companies with better guidelines and less uncertainty,” they wrote the analysts.
“Can we expect more regulatory activity? It seems likely,” said Bernstein analysts in a note on Sunday.
Meanwhile, other social media companies also traded down after taking action against Trump. Facebook, which extended an initial 24-hour suspension to indefinite, fell about 2%. Snap and Pinterest each traded about 1% less.
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