"Twitter Blocked Trump, Considering Pressure on IT Companies During Term"... Supporters Move to Right-Wing SNS

Trump's Facebook and Twitter Accounts Suspended Due to Capitol Violence
Supporters Flock to Right-Wing SNS Parler... 270,000 Downloads in Three Days

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Social networking service (SNS) Twitter permanently suspended the account of U.S. President Donald Trump, citing the risk of inciting violence, which led his supporters to protest and start leaving Twitter one after another. Following Facebook, Twitter's expulsion of President Trump has prompted the White House to likely increase pressure by strengthening regulations on major IT companies during the remainder of his term.

On the 9th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) reported, citing anonymous sources, that the White House is considering introducing regulations on the IT industry as early as the 11th, before President Trump's term ends on the 20th of this month. Specific methods have not yet been disclosed. Last month, President Trump strongly demanded Congress repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants immunity to SNS platforms. CNN also reported that President Trump is expected to fight major IT companies during the remainder of his term.

The reason the White House is trying to pressure IT companies is due to the recent decisions by Twitter and Facebook to permanently suspend President Trump's accounts. These companies blocked President Trump's personal accounts out of concern for further incitement risks, after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC on the 6th, causing violent incidents, which they judged were incited by President Trump.

In response, President Trump's camp strongly protested, saying it was a suppression of freedom of expression. After his Twitter account was blocked on the 8th, President Trump said, "We will not be silenced," adding, "We are in talks with several sites and will have a big announcement soon. We are also exploring the possibility of creating our own platform in the near future." WP reported that "President Trump and the White House are frantically working to find ways to communicate online."

The SNS currently attracting attention from President Trump's camp is Parler. Parler is an SNS favored by far-right groups such as 'QAnon' and 'Proud Boys,' as well as white supremacists. According to IT media TechCrunch, as Parler has emerged as an alternative SNS among Trump supporters, it ranked first in downloads on the Apple App Store that day. Parler's download count surged from 55,000 on the 7th to 210,000 on the 8th. Over the three days since the 6th, the number of downloads of this application (app) in the U.S. totaled 268,000.

In response, Google blocked downloads of Parler from its app store starting on the 8th, and Apple warned that if Parler does not block messages inciting violence, it will be removed from the App Store.

Emerson Brooking, a senior researcher on misinformation at the U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, said, "Supporters of President Trump will receive messages less frequently than before," adding, "Clearly, he has millions of hardline supporters who will carry his message through their channels, but this group will be smaller, more dedicated, and extremely radicalized."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.