German Chancellor Angela Merkel considers U.S. President Donald Trump s eviction from Twitter by the company “problematic,” her spokesman said Monday.

Twitter permanently suspended Trump from the microblogging platform on Friday, citing a “risk of further incitement of violence” in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the outgoing president.

Asked about Twitter's decision, Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert 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.”

“The fundamental right to freedom of opinion is a fundamental right of elementary importance, and this fundamental right can be interfered with, but through the law and within the framework defined by the legislature, not according to the decision of the management of social media platforms.

“From this point of view, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the US president have been permanently blocked.”

He said it's right not to “stand back” when such content is posted, for example by flagging it.

“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 in Berlin. “Seen from this angle, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the U.S. president have now been permanently blocked.”

Facebook on Thursday suspended Trump’s account through Jan. 20, the day of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, and possibly indefinitely.

Merkel herself does not have a Twitter account, although Seibert does and many German government ministers do.

SOURCE


Others who have questioned the decision by big tech giants, Twitter and Facebook to suspend President Trump's accounts are President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, renowned neurosurgeon Ben Carson and virulent Putin critic, Alexey Navalny.

“I don’t like anybody being censored or taking away from the the right to post a message on Twitter or Face(book). I don’t agree with that, I don’t accept that.”

"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,’”

"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.”

[url=https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-leader-condemns-twitter-facebook-for-blocking-trump/2021/01/07/e454ed32-514f-11eb-a1f5-fdaf28cfca90_story.html%3foutputType=amp]SOURCE [/url]

Silencing a significant number of voters and erasing history is no way to unite us; it only further divides. Big tech & social media platforms want to act like media orgs but don’t want to be held accountable with the rest of media. Speech should be free whether you agree or not.

You want to ban @realDonaldTrump, fine you’re a private company, but @Twitter deleting the President’s account which highlights this admin & its history is wrong. @Facebook & @instagram banning all images from the Capitol riot is a dangerous precedent to set. We aren’t in China.

Secretary Ben Carson

1. I think that the ban of Donald Trump on Twitter is an unacceptable act of censorship

2. Of course, during his time in the office, Trump has been writing and saying very irresponsible things. And paid for it by not getting re-elected for a second term.

3. The election is a straightforward and competitive process. You can participate in it, you can appeal against the results, they're being monitored by millions of people. The ban on Twitter is a decision of people we don't know in accordance with a procedure we don't know.

4. In my opinion, the decision to ban Trump was based on emotions and personal political preferences.

5. Don't tell me he was banned for violating Twitter rules. I get death threats here every day for many years, and Twitter doesn't ban anyone (not that I ask for it).

6. Among the people who have Twitter accounts are cold-blooded murderers (Putin or Maduro) and liars and thieves (Medvedev). For many years, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been used as a base for Putin's "troll factory" and similar groups from other authoritarian countries.

7. Those who denied COVID-19 exist freely and communicate on Twitter. Their words have cost thousands of lives. And yet, it was Trump who got banned publicly and ostentatiously. Such selectivity indicates that this was an act of censorship.

8. Of course, Twitter is a private company, but we have seen many examples in Russian and China of such private companies becoming the state's best friends and the enablers when it comes to censorship.

9. If you replace "Trump" with "Navalny" in today's discussion, you will get an 80% accurate Kremlin's answer as to why my name can't be mentioned on Russian TV and I shouldn't be allowed to participate in any elections.

10. This precedent will be exploited by the enemies of freedom of speech around the world. In Russia as well. Every time when they need to silence someone, they will say: 'this is just common practice, even Trump got blocked on Twitter'.

11. If @twitter and @jack want to do things right, they need to create some sort of a committee that can make such decisions. We need to know the names of the members of this committee, understand how it works, how its members vote and how we can appeal against their decisions.

Alexey Navalny

Ok

Pure truth.
The democrats used Twitter and Facebook to Influence the elections, they're going to pay for it .

If the President's account can be banned then we're not safe. Anytime we say something that Jack or Mark Zurg ain't okay with they can sensor us without a second thought.

For those who don't believe that the ILLUMINATI exist what happened in the US should make you understand that they control all the Big companies and are everywhere. All the popular social media can't barn 1 person for some false accusation except for the fact that everything is engineered by the illuminati, truth be told trump didn't encourage any violence. Anyways God will not let his servant see disgrace. CALAMITY WILL SURELY OVERTAKE THE WICKED AND THOSE WHO HATE THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE PUNISHED.

True. Twitter acted so wrongly.

Trump is a racist and he deserves all been thrown at him

Banning wouldn't promote your platform but Flagging could have being considered.

Meanwhile he his still the POTUS till transfer.

Its no news that Twitter has been bought over by the people I do not know.

Trumph, next time, you too keep your mouth

First

I still like trumps though

I agree. It would have been better for Trump's dangerous tweets to be removed and his account suspended with a warning for a few hours each time he violates Twitter's rule. This approach would have been more devastating to Trump's ego.

But Merkel herself is a hypocrite. Germany throws people in jail for denying the holocaust and she has never complained about it.

The funny thing is that progressive Democrats hate social media owners because they are "too rich" and wouldn't mind dismantling them. Twitter will likely pay for this decision because they have no real friends in either the Democrat or Republican camp.

Loaded and I think I want to agree.

very funny...people would still claim tweeter is scared of trump assuming they allow those tweets slide..

Ok ooo

Okay

Abeg enough of trump saga jare


Bull-hari matter dey on ground wey we never settle finish

Insecurities, unemployment, corruption etc.

Now thix is a sane woman, not mad hag Pelosi.

Probably that is why the shares of twitter fell today in German

Even on YouTube. I don't know what I must have said or when and how.

During the #EndSARS protest, I remember making comments about the Nigerian government and how they are aides-and-abettors to terrorism in this useless country.

On some other channels, I remember commenting that Britain were hypocrites that would be doing nonsense censoring and panel setups when they fully know that the lumping of Northern and Southern protectorates -- a crime against humanity -- just for their selfish benefits, purposely handed the Fulani Jihadists the necessary leeway which has led to serious laying of waste to vast swathes of lands and genocide across the Middle Belt, particularly Jos, and its environs.

On some other channels, I educated some of the commenters on what Fulani herdsmen / terrorism truly is. How they were part and parcel of an ethic militia called Janjawid, responsible for the Darfur war, a genocide actually, that claimed the lives of about 400,000 Sudanese. And how many of these monsters form a part of the Nigerian Army.

I never called anyone a fool, I never insulted any commenter to the best of my memory.

One day I woke up and my Youtube account was gone. Gone completely. I got that seriously annoying silly message on my computer : "You cannot access a Google product".

Ever since I have been careful on Youtube with my 2nd account. I can't say my mind again. If Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen kill people in Oke Ogun or Saki in Oyo, or slice their ears off, I cannot say FEM on Youtube o. They wouldn't even let me know the particular comment it is that made one's account to be flagged.

I'm not a Trump fan; never was. But mehn, the overzealous political correctness by the West as we're witnessing today is becoming sickening!

Bmartinss:
Trump with wahala

Trump get wahala plenty.

He sabi GBAGBATI too much.

That is mouth is like razorblade.

Twitter sef over do, more reason China banned it.

no comment this one pass me
make I no go talk rubish

I actually don't understand why they banned him

They should unban him when he leaves office, by then nobody will pay attention to him again. He behaves like a baby by the way.....

He ain't brilliant........

how far with tundednut instagram