Facebook Inc. placed an indefinie ban on President Donald Trump’s account, a day after his Twitter handle was suspended and asked to remove a post in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
The ban implies that the outgoing president will not have access to post on Facebook and Instagram until after the transition of power to Joe Biden on 20 January.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a post that the ban on Trump would last at least two weeks—through the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden —adding that the risks of him using the service during this period “are simply too great.”
“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,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in the post.
This development is coming after social-media companies faced increased pressure from some lawmakers and users to take a tougher stance on Trump, calling for longer account suspension or a permanent ban.
On Wednesday, Facebook, Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc. were among the companies that placed restrictions on posts after protests about the election outcome resulted in pro-Trump rioters invading the Capitol building, clashing with police and threatening lawmakers.
Twitter had promised that Trump would regain the ability to use his personal account Thursday because he deleted three tweets that violated its policies and warned that his account could be suspended permanently.
Trump’s last viewable tweet was posted around 4 p.m. ET in which he asked the people who came to protest at the Capitol to “remain peaceful.”
