Twitter Bans Trump Permanently -- Apple and Google Threaten to Ban Parler App

Twitter Bans Trump Permanently -- Apple and Google Threaten to Ban Parler App

Twitter has permanently banned President Donald Trump from its platform -- and Apple and Google told conservative platform Parler that it had to step up its policing of the conversation on its app -- or lose its spot on iPhones and Androids. 

The moves come after the acts of domestic terrorism at the United States Capitol on Wednesday, with five people dead -- and the role of social media in promoting the event under fire.

Trump had already been banned this week on Facebook -- but Twitter had been his social media of choice. 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Twitter Explains Its Decision 

On Friday, Twitter took to its blog to explain its decision to ban Trump, stating the following:

"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. 

In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open. 

However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement."

Below is a comprehensive analysis of our policy enforcement approach in this case.

READ HERE

According to Politico, Trump went "ballistic" at the decision. 

"For Trump, the Twitter ban was yet another inglorious passage to the final chapter of his presidency," reported Politico. "Over the past two days, he’s been admonished by his own aides, chastised by Republicans, and threatened once more with impeachment."

Parler Under Fire

Twitter and Facebook were not the only companies in the social media spotlight this week. 

"Parler is one of the hottest apps in the world, a social network that has attracted millions of far-right conservatives over the past year with its hands-off approach to policing users’ posts," reported the New York Times on Friday. "And with the news that President Trump had been kicked off Twitter and Facebook, Parler was the odds-on bet to be his next soapbox."

The company's policy of not moderating its content, which includes violence and hate speech, led Apple and Google to threaten to permanently ban the app on their platforms.

"On Friday, Apple told the company that it had to step up its policing of the conversation on its app — undercutting its flagship feature — or lose its platform on iPhones," the NYT continued. "Several hours later, Google suspended Parler from the Play Store, the main way to download apps on Android devices, until it better polices its app."

According to BuzzFeed, Parler clapped back. 

"On Parler, CEO John Matze struck a defiant tone," reported BuzzFeed. “'We will not cave to pressure from anti-competitive actors! We will and always have enforced our rules against violence and illegal activity. But we won't cave to politically motivated companies and those authoritarians who hate free speech!'” he wrote in a message.

Editor's Note: GoLocal is referring to the group who broke into the U.S. Capitol Building as domestic terrorists.

Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85).