Facebook, Twitter, Google face calls to ban Trump from accounts

Civil rights and other advocates say they hope public outrage over the insurrection will spur Internet companies to bolster their voluntary efforts to tamp down online propaganda. — AFP

Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google are facing mounting pressure from lawmakers, activists and civil rights groups to enact tougher policies and more forcefully purge misleading content and accounts – including the ones held by President Donald Trump – after a mob of pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol.

Coinciding with the imminent shift of power in Washington to the Democrats, social networks have taken their most aggressive steps yet to muzzle Trump over the last two days. But civil rights groups and lawmakers say the Internet companies allowed misleading content to proliferate for too long, resulting in dangerous – and deadly – consequences.