Twitter was on Monday gearing up for pro-Trump protesters outside its San Francisco headquarters after banning the platform’s president.
The tech giant permanently suspended Trump on Friday, citing a ‘risk of further incitement to violence’ following his supporters’ takeover of the U.S. Capitol. This saw stocks drop 10 percent just after the opening bell on Monday.
The police told The San Francisco Chronicle that they are aware of a possible protest and are in contact with the social media giant. A police car was parked outside the building on Sunday and barriers were erected, reports NBC.
There was no official demonstration planned, but online conversations suggest that Trump fans may decide to meet to protest the decision.
A post on Saturday suggested that those present should bring ‘big’ zip ties for ‘violent citizens’ prison agitators’. Another reportedly told the protesters to cover their faces with masks and hats.
Twitter employees have not been in the office since March last year, at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Its CEO, Jack Dorsey, allegedly made the extraordinary call to permanently suspend Trump’s account while he was on vacation in French Polynesia.
The consequences of Twitter’s permanent ban on Trump continued over the weekend when his eldest son attacked the social media site and legalists fled to alternatives like Gab and Parler.
‘The world is laughing at America and Mao, Lenin and Stalin are smiling. Can great technology censor the president? Freedom of speech is dead and controlled by supreme left lords, ‘Don Trump Jr said in a tweet on Saturday, asking followers to join his email list,’ if I’m next. ‘
On Monday, he retweeted a post that said: ‘The internet was much safer before @Twitter, @Apple, @Google and @Facebook started protecting us’, writing: ‘This time 1000.’
On Friday, Twitter also permanently banned two Trump loyalists – former national security adviser Michael Flynn and lawyer Sidney Powell – as part of a broader purge of accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Twitter was on Monday gearing up for pro-Trump protesters outside its San Francisco headquarters, pictured, after banning the platform’s president
Officers were stationed outside the building on Sunday and barriers were erected, reports NBC
San Francisco official Adam Lobsinger said in a statement: ‘SFPD is in contact with Twitter representatives. We will have sufficient resources available to respond to any manifestations, as well as calls for service across the city.
“The San Francisco Police Department is committed to facilitating the public’s right to First Amendment expressions of freedom of expression. We urge everyone who exercises their First Amendment rights to be considerate, respectful and attentive to the safety of others. ‘
John Dennis, president of the San Francisco Republican Party, said: ‘When the company has an uneven application of terms of service, you will receive an answer.
‘Will happen. So I don’t know the details of that protest, but I suspect that you will see many of them.
Twitter saw stocks drop 10 percent at the start of Monday’s trading session
Twitter said in a statement: ‘While we respect people’s right to express their opinions, we have been transparent about the factors that led to our decision last week.
“We have nothing to add, but we want to confirm that we continue to have mandatory work at home guidance for Twitter employees.”
Facebook on Thursday suspended Trump’s account until January 20, the day of inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, and possibly indefinitely.
Fueling frustration, the social media site Parler also disappeared from the web and disappeared from Apple and Google’s app stores on Monday after tech giants cut ties with the platform.
Parler went offline shortly after 3 am EST, after Amazon withdrew the platform from its web hosting service, effectively shutting it down until it found a new hosting partner.
Hailed by Trump supporters as a conservative alternative to Twitter, the site is seen as a magnet for the far right and has been accused by Apple, Google and Amazon of continuing to allow messages inciting violence after Wednesday’s riot.
Parler, which some of the protesters used to help plan the insurrection, was the most downloaded app from the Apple Store on Friday, before Apple and Google cut off access to their app stores.
CEO John Matze warned in his final post ahead of the 3 am deadline that ‘we are likely to be down for longer than expected’ as technology companies distance themselves from the ‘free speech’ website.
On Friday, Twitter also permanently banned two Trump loyalists – former national security adviser Michael Flynn and attorney Sidney Powell – as part of a broader account purge that promotes the QAnon conspiracy theory. Twitter said it will take action on behavior that could cause harm offline
Trump, hidden in the White House, was increasingly isolated after a mob revolted on Capitol Hill in support of his false allegations of electoral fraud.
Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday
Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, who had a Parler account, was furious at what he called “political censorship” after Apple and Google removed the app.
“Spread the word so that your fellow Americans know about it,” he asked his three million followers on the website.
Right-wing analyst Ben Shapiro warned on Twitter that “the tech niggas are making a horrible and dangerous moment significantly more horrible and dangerous”.
‘There are no consistent standards being applied. There is a reactionary platform on behalf of one side, ‘he said.
“Everyone on the right is rightly concerned that these same companies are five minutes away from simply removing the ability of conservatives to host content anywhere.”
The crackdown on social media has rekindled a debate over whether tech giants should be treated as ‘editors’ with the same responsibilities as news providers.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted an image of an analytical tool showing the top elected Democrats gaining tens of thousands of followers on Twitter, while top Republicans lost them just as much.
‘This is how you create an echo chamber …’ wrote Pompeo.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that the House will proceed with legislation to impeach Trump as she pressures the vice president and the Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority to expel him.
Hailed by supporters of Donald Trump as a conservative alternative to Twitter, Parler is seen as a magnet for the far right and has been accused by Apple, Google and Amazon of continuing to allow messages that incite violence after Wednesday’s attack on Capitol Hill
Shortly after 3 am EST, Parler disappeared from the web with an error message saying ‘we can’t connect to the server’ after Amazon shut down
In his final post before the 3am deadline, Matze said that ‘most people with enough servers to host us closed their doors for us’
Trump, hidden in the White House, was increasingly isolated after a mob revolted on Capitol Hill in support of his false allegations of electoral fraud.
After his personal account was banned on Friday, Trump accessed the @POTUS account and launched the idea that he could build his own ‘platform’.
A crowd of Trump supporters dominated the police, breached security lines and windows and stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to spread out as they finalized Biden’s victory over Trump at the Electoral College.
Banning Trump, Twitter said in a statement: ‘In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that further violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this same course of action.
“Our public interest structure exists to allow the public to hear directly from elected officials and world leaders. It is based on the principle that people have the right to have the power to be accountable openly.
“However, for years we have made it clear that these accounts are not entirely above our rules and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things.”