Microblogging site Twitter will not allow former United States President Donald Trump back on its platform, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal said, reported CNBC. Trump’s official account was permanently suspended on January 8 after thousands of his supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC, and clashed with the police.
“The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform, whether you’re a commentator, a CFO or a current or former public official,” Ned Segal said in an interview with CNBC’s news show Squawk Box. “Our policies are designed to ensure that people are not inciting violence. And if anybody does that we would have to remove them from the service and our policies don’t allow people to come back.”
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Trump, a frequent Twitter user, had 80 million followers when his account was permanently suspended. The microblogging website had first temporarily suspended the Republican’s account but later imposed a permanent ban, citing “risk of further incitement of violence”. Apart from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have also blocked Trump’s accounts for policy violations.
At a rally on January 6, Trump had urged his supporters to march to the Capitol. A mob had later stormed the Capitol building as members of the Congress were meeting to certify the results of the 2020 presidential elections.
On January 13, the United States House of Representatives impeached Trump for his role in inciting the violence at the Capitol. This week, the US Senate began impeachment proceedings after finding that the trial was constitutional, reported BBC.
The former American president had used the platform to make several announcements during his tenure, departing from the traditional White House media briefings.
On January 14, Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey defended his company’s decision to ban Trump’s account, but warned that such actions could set a dangerous precedent. The Twitter CEO acknowledged that the ban could have “significant ramifications”. Dorsey had also said that he felt the decision to suspend the account was a failure on the company’s part to promote a healthy conversation.
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