German Chancellor Angela Merkel railed against social media giant Twitter for permanently banning outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump from using its platform.
Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account due to concerns that he will incite further violence in the wake of the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
During a press conference on Monday, Merkel’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert shared her opinion about the Twitter ban on Trump. He said the German chancellor called the company’s action problematic.
Take note that Merkel has been a critic of Pres. Trump and she was “furious and saddened” by the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. She believes social media companies such as Twitter “bear great responsibility for political communication not being poisoned by hatred, by lies and by incitement to violence.”
It is right to be proactive and “not stand back” when hate speech and misinformation are proliferating. However, she emphasized that Twitter went too far with the permanent ban.
“The fundamental right to freedom of opinion is a fundamental right of elementary importance,” said Seibert.