Facebook, Instagram to block Trump's account for rest of his presidential term

Facebook bans Trump 'indefinitely'

Trump's favourite megaphone, Twitter, blocks him for 12 hours

San Francisco. Facebook banned President Donald Trump from the platform "indefinitely" due to his efforts to incite violence at the US Capitol, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday.

Zuckerberg said the 24-hour ban announced on Wednesday on Trump's accounts including on Instagram was extended because of Trump's "use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government".

The Facebook CEO added: "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."

The announcement came the day after the outgoing US leader was locked out of all major social media platforms due to his false claims about the legitimacy of his loss to Biden, and for inciting the angry mob that stormed the US Capitol.

"We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.

Read more: After Trump supporters storm US Capitol, Congress certifies Biden win

"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."

Trump's favourite megaphone, Twitter, blocked him for 12 hours, but it was unclear on Thursday if the ban had been lifted.

Snapchat confirmed on Thursday that it locked Trump out of the photo sharing platform amid concerns over his dangerous rhetoric.

Twitter said Trump's messages were violations of the platform's rules on civic integrity and that any future violations "will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account".

The messaging platform said Trump's account would be locked for 12 hours and that if the offending tweets were not removed, "the account will remain locked."

Critics of the online platforms argued they moved too slowly as Wednesday's violence was organised on social media, directing their ire at Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

"You've got blood on your hands, @jack and Zuck," tweeted Chris Sacca, an early Facebook investor who has become one of its harshest critics.

"For four years you've rationalised this terror. Inciting violent treason is not a free speech exercise. If you work at those companies, it's on you too."