Twitter permanently suspends Trump citing risk of incitement

Twitter Inc has said that it has permanently suspended US President Donald Trump's account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

"After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence," the company said in a tweet on Saturday.

Twitter Inc also blocked an effort by the US president to tweet using @POTUS and later suspended Donald Trump's campaign account @TeamTrump for violating its rules.

Accounts of Trump allies including, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump attorney Sidney Powell were also reportedly suspended on the social media platform for spreading Qanon-inspired conspiracy theories.

Reddit has also banned subreddit "r/DonaldTrump" in the wake of the Capitol riots.

Earlier in June 2020, Reddit had banned the subreddit "r/The_Donald forum," where nearly 800,000 members had posted memes, videos and messages of support for US President Donald Trump.

Reddit says the subreddit has repeatedly violated the platform's rules against harassment, hate speech and content manipulation.

Social media companies have cracked down on Trump’s accounts in the wake of the turmoil on Wednesday. Facebook Inc said earlier this week it was suspending his account through until at least the end of his presidential term.

READ MORE: Twitter, Facebook block Donald Trump's accounts from posting

The Republican president is due to hand over to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.

The White House did not immediately comment.

In a blog post on Friday, Twitter said that two of the president’s tweets posted that day were in violation of its policy against the glorification of violence.

READ MORE: Trump promises 'orderly' transition after supporters invade Capitol

Twitter had temporarily blocked Trump’s account, which had more than 88 million followers, on Wednesday following the siege of Capitol Hill, and warned that additional violations by the president’s accounts would result in a permanent suspension.

Trump was required to delete three rule-breaking tweets before his account was unblocked. He returned to Twitter on Thursday with a video acknowledging that Joe Biden would be the next US president.

READ MORE: Trump begrudgingly concedes to Biden, condemns Capitol riot

Google pulls Parler from app shop for 'egregious content'

Google has said it had pulled the Parler app from its mobile store for allowing "egregious content" that could incite deadly violence like that seen at the US Capitol.

The Parler social network has become a haven for far-right personalities who say they have been censored by other social media platforms.

"We're aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the US," Google said in a response to an AFP inquiry.

"For us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious con tent," the company added, referring to its shop for digital content tailored for Android-powered devices.

Policies and enforcement practices that curb posts inciting violence are agreed to by app developers whose software is made available at Google Play, according to the Silicon Valley internet titan.

"In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app's listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues," Google said.

Apple has also reportedly warned Parler that its software could be removed from the App Store if it doesn't take measures to prevent users from planning illegal, violent activities on the platform such as the deadly attack in Washington.

Conservatives backing President Donald Trump's claims of election malfeasance have sparked a migration to alternative social media sites that have refrained from filtering unverified claims.

The shift has boosted right-wing favorites like Parler, Newsmax and Rumble, which have rejected Facebook and Twitter's approach of labeling and limiting the reach of conspiracy theories.

Sites like Parler have attracted Republican lawmakers as well as the Trump campaign.

As they have become increasingly important to the political conversation, Twitter and Facebook have struggled with manipulation and misinformation, while at the same time seeking to keep their platforms open to a variety of viewpoints.

Parler and similar sites have become a magnet for racist and anti-Semitic tropes along with groups that have been banned from other platforms for posting hateful content or pro moting violence.