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Trump calls online bans, including by Facebook, 'total disgrace'

Philippines

Trump calls online bans, including by Facebook, 'total disgrace'

By Agence France-Presse

Donald Trump said Wednesday it was a "total disgrace" for online giants to institute social media bans, after a Facebook board upheld the company's restriction against the former US president which he argued infringed on his free speech.

In this file photo illustration, a phone screen displays a Facebook logo with the official portrait of former US President Donald Trump on the background, on May 4, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP/ MANILA BULLETIN)

"What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our country," Trump said in a statement.

"Free Speech has been taken away from the president of the United States because the radical left lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before," the Republican former leader said.

"The people of our country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our electoral process." Trump, who has been mostly ensconced in his private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida since leaving the White House on January 20, has continued to peddle his false claim that voter fraud caused his defeat in last year's election.

But he has also latched on to the largely Republican argument that big tech firms support Democratic politicians and have undue influence over political speech.

Republican lawmakers have threatened to go after the technology giants if Trump's party regains a majority in Congress in the next midterm election, set for 2022.

"If they can ban president Trump, all conservative voices could be next," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted.

"A House Republican majority will rein in big tech power over our speech."

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