ANGELA Merkel, Germany Chancellor, has said that Trump Twitter ban should not have been decided by management, but by laws.
She described the action by Twitter to permanently ban US President Donald Trump from its platform as ‘problematic.’
Merkel, through Steffen Seibert, her spokesperson, said the operators of social media platforms “bear great responsibility for political communication not being poisoned by hatred, by lies and by incitement to violence.”
He noted that while it was not right to ‘stand back’ when inciting and misinforming contents were posted, it was important to note that a serious action like ban could be flagged.
He further said that freedom of opinion was a fundamental right of ‘elementary significance’ and intervention as to whether a person had misused his or her rights should be determined by legislative laws and not by social media owners.
“This fundamental right can be intervened in, but according to the law and within the framework defined by legislators — not according to a decision by the management of social media platforms,” he told reporters.
“Seen from this angle, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the U.S. president have now been permanently blocked.”
Twitter had announced the permanent suspension of Trump from the microblogging platform on Friday, citing a ‘risk of further incitement of violence’ in the wake of the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of the outgoing president.
Trump, whose tenure ends in nine days and who is currently facing the pressure of resignation or impeachment over the role he played in the invasion of Capitol Hill, had earlier been indefinitely suspended by both Facebook and Instagram.
Although some sections of the media have supported the actions of the microblogging sites, a section is, however, concerned about the freedom of speech.
Read Also: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter sanction Trump for inciting violence in Washington
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