Change the Terms Calls on Social Media Platforms to Ban Trump Following US Capitol Violence
For Immediate Release: January 6, 2021
Contact: Eric Naing, eric@muslimadvocates.org
The following is a statement from the Change the Terms Coalition:
“Donald Trump is an autocrat who just used social media to help organize and incite an insurrection against the U.S. government and the peaceful transfer of power. Trump must be held to account for these illegal actions, but he is not the only one to blame. Time and again Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have refused to take action against disinformation, hate, and violent speech on their platforms. Today’s events were deeply connected to white supremacist organizing on these social media platforms — organizing that was left unchecked and fueled by disinformation and conspiracy theories advanced by Trump. And as today’s events unfolded, Trump used his social media accounts to encourage and cheer on the violent insurrectionists.
Donald Trump’s accounts must be banned from social media platforms immediately. These companies’ weak and irresponsible content moderation practices have already damaged our democracy — at least one person was killed today and several more injured. If platforms do not take immediate action to permanently remove Trump’s accounts, they will further share in the blame for additional white supremacist violence that may unfold over the evening and in the remaining days before Trump’s term as president ends.
Which side of history do Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube wish to be on? Their choice is long overdue.”
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Change the Terms is a coalition calling on Big Tech to institute and enforce service agreement prohibitions on hateful activities to protect public safety and respect diverse voices. The coalition includes more than 60 civil rights, human rights, technology policy and consumer protection organizations dedicated to encouraging social media sites, payment processors and chat services to commit to fair, effective and transparent rules and practices for content moderation.
