[Jan 7, 2021 – Menlo Park] Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that the social media giant is banning President Trump indefinitely, marking a dramatic escalation of the conflict between Silicon Valley and the White House after Trump weaponized the Web to help stoke a riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg wrote. “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.”
Facebook’s suspension marked the most aggressive penalty that any social media company has meted out to Trump over his four-year term, a period in which he has repeatedly peddled falsehoods, attacked critics and spread divisive rhetoric online.