Snowden: Zuckerberg's Decision To Silence Trump Is "The Turning Point In The Battle For Control Of Digital Speech"
Now that Trump has effectively been locked out from social media following yesterday's decision by Twitter to suspend the president's account for 12 hours while threatening a permanent suspension if Trump violates the company's terms of service, a suspension which was then promptly followed by Facebook and Instagram, moments ago Mark Zuckerberg, who had no problem with generating copious traffic and ad revenue on the back of controversial Trump tweets for the past 4 years, announced in a blog post that "the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great" and as a result "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."
Addressing the unexpected decision to delete several of Trump announcements yesterday, Zuck said that he "removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect -- and likely their intent -- would be to provoke further violence."
What about the accusations from various corners that it was Facebook's hypocrisy and "lack of censorship" that enabled yesterday's events? Here Zuck has a prepared response too:
Over the last several years, we have allowed President Trump to use our platform consistent with our own rules, at times removing content or labeling his posts when they violate our policies. We did this because we believe that the public has a right to the broadest possible access to political speech, even controversial speech. But the current context is now fundamentally different, involving use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.
His conclusion: "following the certification of the election results by Congress, the priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms."
In short: Trump may have his Facebook accounts once he is out of the White House, but don't be on it. It also means that as of this moment, the censorship of anyone, anywhere is fair game. As Edward Snowden put it, "Facebook officially silences the President of the United States. For better or worse, this will be remembered as a turning point in the battle for control over digital speech."
Facebook officially silences the President of the United States. For better or worse, this will be remembered as a turning point in the battle for control over digital speech. https://t.co/RBfoIn4ENE
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 7, 2021
Zuckerberg's full note is below:
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.
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. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect -- and likely their intent -- would be to provoke further violence.
Following the certification of the election results by Congress, the priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.
Over the last several years, we have allowed President Trump to use our platform consistent with our own rules, at times removing content or labeling his posts when they violate our policies. We did this because we believe that the public has a right to the broadest possible access to political speech, even controversial speech. But the current context is now fundamentally different, involving use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.
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.
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