​Lindsey Graham is 'more determined than ever' to strip tech companies of legal protections after Twitter bans Trump



Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that he was "more determined than ever" to strip tech and social media companies of legal protections under Section 230 after the president was banned permanently from his Twitter account.

Twitter announced on Friday that they had banned President Donald Trump from his account over concerns that his tweets were inciting violence. Supporters of the president accused the popular social media platform of political bias.

Graham took to his Twitter account to decry the action and call for Section 230 to be rescinded. The law protects some tech companies from legal repercussions over speech posted to their platforms by third parties.

"Twitter may ban me for this but I willingly accept that fate: Your decision to permanently ban President Trump is a serious mistake. The Ayatollah can tweet, but Trump can't. Says a lot about the people who run Twitter," tweeted Graham.

Twitter may ban me for this but I willingly accept that fate: Your decision to permanently ban President Trump is a… https://t.co/GrqXR5XKXY
— Lindsey Graham (@Lindsey Graham)1610154902.0

"I'm more determined than ever to strip Section 230 protections from Big Tech (Twitter) that let them be immune from lawsuits." continued Graham in a second tweet.

"Big Tech are the only companies in America that virtually have absolute immunity from being sued for their actions, and it's only because Congress gave them that protection," he added.

"It is now time for Congress to repeal Section 230 and put Big Tech on the same legal footing as every other company in America. Legal accountability," Graham concluded.

The president on Friday attempted to post a statement to Twitter using other government accounts, but the social media company took quick action to delete the messages and restrict the accounts.

Despite Twitter deleting the tweets, supporters of the president circulated his statement widely on the platform.

"Twitter has gone further and further in banning free speech, and tonight, Twitter employees have coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left in removing my account from their platform, to silence me," said the president, in part.

""Twitter may be a private company, but without the government's gift of Section 230 they would not exist for long.I predicted this would happen. We have been negotiating with various other sites, and will have a big announcement soon, while we also look at the possibilities of building out our own platform in their future," the president added.

"We will not be SILENCED!" he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also said on Friday that if the president didn't resign that Democrats in the House would move to impeach him for inciting an insurrection on Monday.

Here's more about the Twitter ban against the president:

Twitter permanently bans Trump as Democrats seek impeachment and removalwww.youtube.com

Michelle Obama calls on tech companies to stop enabling Trump's 'monstrous behavior' and ban him permanently



Former first lady Michelle Obama scolded tech companies for "enabling" President Donald Trump's "monstrous behavior" and called for them to permanently ban the president.

Obama denounced the rioting at the U.S. Capitol in her statement that was released on Thursday, and then addressed Silicon Valley.

"I hurt for our country. And I wish I had all the solutions to make things better. I wish I had the confidence that people who know better will act like it for more than a news cycle or two," wrote Obama.

"All I know is that now is a time for true patriotism. Now is the time for those who voted for this president to see the reality of what they've supported-and publicly and forcefully rebuke him and the actions of that mob," she continued.

"Now is the time for Silicon Valley companies to stop enabling this monstrous behavior — and go even further than they have already by permanently banning this man from their platforms and putting in place policies to prevent their technology from being used by the nation's leaders to fuel insurrection."

Obama was referring to actions already taken by some social media companies to limit the president's ability to post his claims about the 2020 election.

On Wednesday Twitter announced that they were suspending the president from his account for 12 hours over several tweets about the election. Soon after, Facebook followed suit and suspended Trump from his account for 24 hours. YouTube also took down a video the president posted where he told protesters and rioters to go home, but added his claims about the election.

Twitter said they would consider a permanent ban of the president and on Thursday Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the president would be locked out of his account for at least the duration of the transition period.

Obama also described her reaction to the rioting at the U.S. Capitol in her statement.

"Like all of you, I watched as a gang - organized, violent, and mad they'd lost an election - laid seige to the United States Capitol. They set up gallows. They proudly waved the traitorous flag of the Confederacy through the halls. They desecrated the center of American government," she wrote.

"The day was a fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can't handle the truth of his own failures. And the wreckage lays at the feet of a party and media apparatus that gleefully cheered him on, knowing full well the possibility of consequences like these," Obama added.

On Thursday the president condemned the rioting in a statement from White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to the media.

Here's more about Trump's social media:

Twitter and Facebook lock President Donald Trump's accounts after Capitol unrestwww.youtube.com

Twitter locks Trump's account for 12 hours and says it may suspend him permanently; Facebook blocks him for 24 hours



Twitter said that it locked President Donald Trump's account for 12 hours after he posted tweets in violation of its "civic integrity" policies over the rioting at the U.S. Capitol against the certification of the election results.

President Trump had tweeted a video of himself addressing the people who were attacking the offices of members of Congress and attempting to thwart the congressional proceedings on Wednesday. He also continued to press the narrative that the election was stolen from him.

"As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy," read the statement from Twitter.

"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked," the social media giant explained.

"Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account," the company concluded.

Facebook and YouTube also deleted the video of the president's claims from their online platforms. Facebook later said it had locked the president out of his account for 24 hours for violating its policies.

"The violent protests in the Capitol today are a disgrace. We prohibit incitement and calls for violence on our platform. We are actively reviewing and removing any content that breaks these rules," Facebook said in a statement.

Facebook's Guy Rosen, the vice president of integrity, called it an emergency situation.

This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump… https://t.co/xmqukcUtJj
— Guy Rosen (@Guy Rosen)1609973006.0

"This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence," Rosen tweeted.

Despite the protests of the president and the rioting from his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that Congress would reconvene Wednesday evening and validate the Electoral College results of the election.

Here's more about the president's Twitter account:

Twitter suspends Trump's account for 12 hourswww.youtube.com