Twitter said it would require Trump to remove that post and two other tweets publicizing his false allegations about a fraudulent election, and that his account would remain blocked until 12 hours after he did so.
“Future violations of Twitter rules, including our civic integrity policies or violent threats, will result in the permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account,” said the company. “Our public interest policy – which has guided our enforcement action in this area for years – ends when we believe that the risk of damage is greater and / or more serious.”
Facebook did the same on Wednesday, announcing that it would impose a “24-hour resource block” that would temporarily remove Trump’s ability to post. Facebook’s Instagram platform said it was blocking your account there too
It marked the most severe actions taken by two social media platforms against Trump so far. A Twitter spokesman said it was the first time the company has blocked Trump’s account for violations unrelated to allegations of copyright infringement.
A flurry of Democratic lawmakers has called on platforms to take more permanent action against Trump.
“Enough is enough!” tweeted President of Energy and Commerce of the House, Frank Pallone (DN.J.). “Trump is inciting violence and spreading dangerous misinformation that is undermining our democracy and our way of life. Social media continues to amplify its undemocratic rhetoric.”
He added: “It is time for [Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey] and [Facebook CEO] Mark Zuckerberg must remove Trump from his platforms. “
Social media companies have long faced criticism from Democratic leaders, civil rights groups and other defenders that they have failed to enforce their policies against inciting violence on their platforms when it comes to Trump and his allies. The company has long treated world leaders differently from ordinary users in the way it deals with violations of its rules, citing the public interest in knowing about its messages.
YouTube removed the video, according to a company spokesman, who said the post violated its policies against content that alleged widespread electoral fraud during the 2020 elections. The spokesman said YouTube would allow users to pass on the video if it contained additional educational context.
Facebook initially handled the post by adding a label that directed users to reliable sources of information about the election and said, “The United States has laws, procedures and institutions in place to ensure the integrity of our elections.” Later, however, he intensified his decision by completely removing the post and blocking Trump from posting for a 24-hour period.
“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump’s video,” tweeted Facebook chief integrity, Guy Rosen. “We removed it because, in general, we believe it contributes rather than decreasing the risk of continuing violence.”
Twitter blocked users in minutes from replying, liking or retweeting the post without additional context, citing a “risk of violence”. But he did not say he would require Trump to remove the post until hours later, nor did he suspend his Twitter account, despite calls for this action by people and groups who said the president was using the social media platform to incite violence..
Trump used the video to continue falsely claiming that he, and not President-elect Joe Biden, had won in November.
“It was an overwhelming election and everyone knows it, especially the other side, but you have to go home now. We need to have peace. We need to have law and order, ”Trump said in the video, hours after a crowd of protesters breached the Capitol building and invaded the House and Senate chambers.
Twitter initially restricted and limited the visibility of an tweet in which Trump seemed to justify the violence, writing: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred overwhelming electoral victory is so unceremoniously and cruelly withdrawn from great patriots who have been ill and unfairly treated for so long.”
He added, “Go home in love and in peace. Remember this day forever!”
The company also applied the same restrictions to a previous tweet on Wednesday in which the president said that Pence, who refused to use his role as president of the Senate to overturn election results, “did not have the courage to do what should have been done”. It was later said that both posts would need to be removed for Trump to regain access to his account.
The public safety division of Twitter tweeted that the social media company is “working proactively to protect the health of public conversations taking place on the service and will take action on any content that violates” its rules. The social media platform also said it is “exploring other scaled-up law enforcement actions” without going into details.
Social media platforms faced new calls to suspend or remove Trump amid Wednesday’s unrest, which caused the Capitol to close and lawmakers to evacuate with gas masks while police poured tear gas on protesters.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, released a statement on Wednesday saying that “social media companies should suspend their accounts as soon as possible, as they would with anyone who defends disinformation and promotes violence”.
Rashad Robinson, president of the advocacy group Color of Change, tweeted on Wednesday: “Enough. It’s time for Facebook and Twitter to take Trump off their platforms. “