Online platforms have taken action against President Donald Trump in response to his encouragement of a pro-Trump mob that attacked the US Capitol on January 6th. That day, Facebook and Twitter removed some of Trump’s social media posts, a video, and instituted short-term bans on Trump’s accounts.
But on January 7th, platforms began taking more drastic action, with Facebook deciding to ban Trump “indefinitely,” and Shopify taking down Trump’s campaign store (which sold Make America Great Again hats). More actions may follow.
We’ll be following the situation closely, and you can keep up with all of the developments right here.
Nov 20, 2022James Vincent and Sean Hollister
Elon Musk says he’s letting Donald Trump back on Twitter
He justified the decision based on the results of a personal Twitter poll. “The people have spoken,” Musk decreed.
Facebook has no reason to ever resolve the Trump ban
If you want a final ruling, you came to the wrong place
Apple reportedly denies Parler’s App Store appeal, citing derogatory terms and ‘Nazi symbols’
‘Simple searches reveal highly objectionable content’
Feb 18, 2021Ian Carlos Campbell
Trump’s campaign app was suspended from the Google Play Store because it didn’t work
Android apps need to meet a ‘minimum level of functionality’
Facebook’s Trump ban will be reviewed by its new Oversight Board
The social platform banned the former president following the January 6th Capitol riots
Facebook suspends ads for weapon accessories until at least January 22nd
The company added the temporary ban to its Inauguration Day preparations
Some Twitter employees have reportedly locked their accounts fearing reprisal from Trump supporters
Twitter permanently suspended President Trump from the platform after the Capitol riot
Unlike Airbnb, VRBO reportedly won’t cancel reservations in DC during inauguration week
Law enforcement officials have said there is a potential for more violence in DC
Facebook is blocking events near the White House through Inauguration Day
It’s also blocking events near the US Capitol building and state capitol buildings
Twitter says a new video from Trump doesn’t break the rules
Twitter told NBC it wasn’t technically ban evasion
Jack Dorsey defends Twitter’s Trump ban, then enthuses about bitcoin
Ban reflects Twitter’s failure ‘to promote healthy conversation’
Snapchat will permanently terminate Trump’s account
Trump had attempted to violate Snapchat’s polices dozens of times
These are the violent threats that made Amazon drop Parler
A new filing reveals Amazon’s concerns, raised weeks before the Capitol raid
Only one person showed up to the pro-Trump protest outside Twitter’s San Francisco HQ
30 police officers were there to monitor the scene
Salesforce says it has taken action against the RNC, but won’t say how
The company says it has blocked the RNC from sending emails that could incite violence
Facebook says it’s banning the phrase ‘stop the steal’
‘We have already removed a significant number of posts,’ say executives
Peloton is blocking the #StopTheSteal hashtag from being created or used
Joining the tech platforms in blocking the movement
Parler posts, some with GPS data, have been archived by an independent researcher
The site went offline early Monday after Amazon terminated its web hosting
Parler is gone for now as Amazon terminates hosting
The proliferation of violent content on the site pushed Apple and Google to ban it as well
Parler CEO says even his lawyers are abandoning him
CEO John Matze said “every vendor” ditched the company
Use of Clearview AI facial recognition tech spiked as law enforcement seeks to identify Capitol mob
The company’s CEO said use of its tech was up 26 percent the day after the January 6th attack
Jan 10, 2021Jay Peters and Kim Lyons
Apple removes Parler from the App Store
Google removed the app from the Play Store Friday evening
Social media and telco companies urged to preserve evidence from Capitol attack
An informal request from Sen. Warner said the Capitol is “now a crime scene”
Twitter is deleting Trump’s attempts to circumvent ban
Tweets from @POTUS and @TeamTrump have been removed
Discord bans pro-Trump server ‘The Donald’
The server had connections to the banned r/The_Donald subreddit
Jan 8, 2021Jacob Kastrenakes and Makena Kelly
Twitter permanently bans Trump
The president’s preferred megaphone is gone
Apple and Google face pressure to deplatform Parler over calls to violence
Apple reportedly gave Parler 24 hours to add moderation or be expelled from its App Store
Twitter bans QAnon supporters, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn
Cites ‘renewed potential for violence’
Hundreds of Twitter employees call for Trump to be banned
CEO Jack Dorsey said Twitter policies are meant to ‘earn trust’
Reddit bans r/donaldtrump forum for inciting violence
Forum had replaced notorious subreddit r/The_Donald
TikTok will remove videos of Trump inciting supporters to storm the Capitol
The company says the videos violate its policies
Twitch disables Trump’s account
‘In light of yesterday’s shocking attack on the Capitol, we have disabled President Trump’s Twitch channel’
YouTube says it will punish Trump and other channels that continue to spread election lies
Channels will receive an automatic strike on top of videos being removed
Shopify takes down Trump’s campaign store
The company says the president’s comments Wednesday violated its policy against promoting violence
Facebook bans Trump ‘indefinitely’
‘The risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service... are simply too great’
Facebook and Instagram ban Trump for 24 hours
The company follows Twitter in restricting Trump’s presence
Twitter says Trump’s account is locked, and he’s facing a ban
Three tweets contained ‘severe’ policy violations
Facebook declares ‘emergency situation’ and removes Trump video
YouTube and Twitter also removed it
YouTube removes Trump video addressing Capitol attack
The video was removed because of false information about the 2020 election
Twitter pulls Trump video that it said posed a ‘risk of violence’
Trump told rioters to ‘go home’ but didn’t denounce violence
