By Sarah E. Needleman 

Facebook Inc. placed its harshest restrictions yet on President Trump Thursday, blocking him from posting indefinitely a day after the social-media giant and its peers removed posts in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a post that the ban on Mr. Trump would last at least two weeks -- through the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden -- adding that the risks of his using the service during this period "are simply too great." The ban, which applies to Facebook's flagship blue app and Instagram, was initially due to last 24 hours when the company on Wednesday said it removed a video from Mr. Trump that reiterated unsubstantiated claims the election was stolen and expressed support for the protesters.

"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 Thursday.

Separately, Twitter on Thursday morning said the president would be able to resume tweeting from his personal account after deleting three tweets that represented "repeated and severe violations" of its civic integrity policy. The company, in a post just after 7 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, said it had suspended his account for 12 hours, and warned that it could enact a permanent suspension if he continued to violate rules.

A Twitter representative said the company would determine whether "further escalation in our enforcement approach is necessary."

Representatives for the White House didn't respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump as well as Republican lawmakers have criticized the efforts of social-media companies in the run-up to and following the 2020 presidential election, claiming their actions to censor content have been targeted at stifling conservative viewpoints.

A YouTube spokesman said Thursday that any channel posting new videos that spread misinformation about widespread voter fraud would be penalized, a move that temporarily restricts the page from uploading or live-streaming. Several videos that Mr. Trump posted Wednesday to his channel deemed to violate company rules were removed, a spokesman said.

Social-media companies have been facing increased pressure from some lawmakers and users to take a tougher stance on Mr. Trump, calling for longer account suspensions or a permanent ban. Danielle Citron, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School and longtime member of Twitter's Trust and Safety board, has previously argued in favor of suspending Mr. Trump's account, citing harm to public health and U.S. democracy. On Wednesday she said in an op-ed published by the news outlet Slate that the president "needs a serious timeout, perhaps a permanent one."

The efforts from large platform operators to fact-check or slow the spread of Mr. Trump's posts started before the November election.

In May Twitter for the first time applied a fact-checking notice to a tweet in which the president suggested without providing evidence that mail-in ballots would lead to voter fraud. A month later Facebook said it took down posts and ads for Mr. Trump's re-election campaign because they violated its policy against "organized hate."

And in August both Twitter and Facebook removed posts by Mr. Trump that showed a video of him saying children are "almost immune" from Covid-19, a claim the companies said ran afoul their rules against harmful misinformation about the coronavirus.

The moves to sanction Mr. Trump extend beyond social media. A range of business leaders and trade groups denounced his posts Wednesday and urged for a peaceful transition of power.

Online stores run by the Trump Organization and Trump campaign were taken offline Thursday by Shopify Inc., an e-commerce software provider. A Shopify spokeswoman said Mr. Trump violated the company's policy, which prohibits retailers on the platform from promoting or supporting organizations or people that promote violence.

Representatives for the Trump Organization, the umbrella company overseeing the president's real-estate and branding business, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Vipal Monga contributed to this article.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 07, 2021 14:24 ET (19:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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