Mexican president slams Twitter and Facebook for blocking Trump
by Haley Victory Smith, Breaking News Reporter |
| January 09, 2021
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that Twitter and Facebook made the wrong decision in blocking President Trump from their platforms.
Lopez Obrador said the move provided a hindrance to freedom of speech in a press briefing on Friday.
“How can you censor someone? Let’s see, I, as the judge of the Holy Inquisition, will punish you because I think what you’re saying is harmful?” he remarked. “Where is the law, where is the regulation, what are the norms? This is an issue of government. This is not an issue for private companies.”
In a statement later in the day, spokesman Jesus Ramirez wrote: “Facebook’s decision to silence the current leader of the United States calls for a debate on freedom of expression, the free exchange of information on the web, democracy and the role of the companies that administer [social] networks.”
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On Friday, Twitter made the decision to suspend Trump permanently from its platform, writing: “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence. ”
Facebook and Instagram will not allow the president to post from his account for the remainder of his term and perhaps “indefinitely,” according to the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” he said. “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.”
