Mark Zuckerberg Extends Ban On Donald Trump's Facebook & Instagram Account 'Indefinitely' With Conditions

Mark Zuckerberg has placed a ban on outgoing US President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely or for minimum next two weeks.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks at Georgetown University in a 'Conversation on Free Expression" in Washington, DC on October 17, 2019. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

In the aftermath of the violence that rocked the Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg placed an "indefinite" ban on the outgoing US President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts. The move by the social media giant comes with a caveat which states that the ban will remain minimum for two weeks. In an elongated post on his Facebook account Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday wrote, using social media platforms to incite violent and spread false information against a democratically elected President is "fundamentally different". “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period (Donald Trump to Joe Biden transition phase) are simply too great,” Zuckerberg elaborated his reasoning to ban Donald Trump's account. The decision taken by Facebook to ban Trump is also an unprecedented move from the platform’s side which has always been criticized over its content moderation policies.

We believe the risks of allowing President Trump to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great, so we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks. pic.twitter.com/JkyGOTYB1Z

— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) January 7, 2021

After the breach of Capitol building on Wednesday, Trump in a video posted on his social media handles told rioters "I love you" before telling them to go home. Looking at his actions and messages, Facebook decided to lock Trump’s account on their platforms (Facebook and Instagram) for 24 hours. The microblogging site Twitter had also imposed a block on Trump’s handle for 12-hours. Twitter informed that his messages (tweets) were violations of the platform’s rules on civic integrity and any future violations “will result in permanent suspension".