Facebook has banned outgoing US President Donald Trump from its social media platforms indefinitely for at least the next two weeks until the transmission of power to President-elect Joe Biden's administration is complete. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the US President has been banned due to his efforts to incite the violence which occurred at US Capitol on January 6.
In a social media post, Zuckerberg stated that the 24-hour-ban which was imposed on Wednesday has been extended because of Trump's "use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government."
Earlier, both Twitter and Facebook had blocked US President Trump's official accounts for 12 and 24 hours, respectively. The companies had cited policy violations over his tweets and video message which incited the violence at US Capitol. Later, Facebook-owned Instagram also announced a 24-hour ban on Trump's account. Facebook and Instagram have now extended? this ban.
Explaining his reasoning for the imposition of the indefinite ban, Zuckerberg wrote, "The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden."
The Facebook CEO added, "We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete".
On January 6, thousands of angry Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol and clashed with police, resulting in casualties and multiple injuries. They briefly interrupted a constitutional process to affirm Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election of 2020.