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World Leaders Denounce Big Tech Censorship of President Donald Trump
The Epoch Times ^ | January 12, 2021 | Victoria Kelly-Clark

Posted on 01/12/2021 7:52:35 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Political elites worldwide have criticized big tech companies for banning President Donald Trump from their social media platforms.

At present, the president has been banned from Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, and Instagram.

Twitter permanently removed Trump’s account, saying that his recent posts were in violation of the “Glorification of Violence Policy.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Twitter’s ban on Trump “problematic,” and said that freedom of opinion is an essential right of “elementary significance,” her spokesperson, Steffen Siebert, said on Jan 11.

“This fundamental right can be intervened in, but according to the law and within the framework defined by legislators—not according to a decision by the management of social media platforms,” Siebert said.

“Seen from this angle, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the U.S. president have now been permanently blocked,” he said.

Members of the French government agreed.

Clement Beaune, the junior minister for European Union affairs, said he was “shocked” a private company made this kind of decision.

“This should be decided by citizens, not by a CEO,” he told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “There needs to be public regulation of big online platforms.”

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also condemned the move and said that tech giants were part of a digital oligarchy that was a threat to democracy.

Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party—a centre-right political party—echoed Beaune and called for Big Tech firms to be regulated.

“We cannot leave it to American Big Tech to decide how we can or cannot discuss online. Today’s mechanisms destroy the compromise searching and consensus-building that are crucial in free and democratic societies. We need a stricter regulatory approach,” he wrote on Twitter on Jan. 11.

(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Germany; Mexico; Philosophy; Russia
KEYWORDS: alexeinavalny; angelamerkel; australia; bigtech; censorship; china; criticism; democracy; eu; facebook; france; freedomofspeech; germany; instagram; manuallopezobrador; mexico; norway; pinterest; protest; reddit; regulations; riot; russia; section230; snapchat; techtyranny; trump; twitter; violence
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1 posted on 01/12/2021 7:52:35 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

LIBS: We need to be more like other countries....oh wait


2 posted on 01/12/2021 7:54:13 PM PST by frogjerk
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Even basket case Europe gets it.


3 posted on 01/12/2021 7:55:33 PM PST by MountainWalker
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To: 100American; 3D-JOY; abner; Abundy; AGreatPer; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; alisasny; ...

Globalist tech oligarchs offend the globe.

PING!


4 posted on 01/12/2021 7:57:04 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Hope is not a plan. -- Matthew Bracken)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Even the Stazi gets it.


5 posted on 01/12/2021 7:59:55 PM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Epoch times misunderstands the intent of the Europeans. Merkel condemned Twitter for banning Trump. She stated this is not THEIR responsibility.

Germany has communist style speech laws forbidding people from sharing news articles on immigration/refugee crime, questioning the holocaust, quoting Bible verses on homosexuality, and other matters.

The Europeons believe the US government should be in charge of censorship. They are opposed to private companies enforcing European style speech laws. This is the only thing they are upset about.


6 posted on 01/12/2021 8:00:33 PM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The world is getting tired of the US deep state’s schemes.


7 posted on 01/12/2021 8:01:54 PM PST by PGR88
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To: PGR88

They want to give over control of all digital communications to the UN.

So some Chinese bureaucrat can decide if your post violates their standards.

There’s no good way out of this.


8 posted on 01/12/2021 8:02:58 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

they are basically attempting to make Trump an unperson

needs to be framed in this orwellian frame


9 posted on 01/12/2021 8:10:20 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: MountainWalker

not because they love Trump

they just dont want it to happen to them


10 posted on 01/12/2021 8:10:52 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Europe? Wow. At this rate, even China will seem more free than the U.S. before too long.


11 posted on 01/12/2021 8:13:33 PM PST by montag813 ("Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great")
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Europe sees the US becoming more Fascist under LW rule. They know, they fought it 75 years ago, and they are the watchman warning us to change direction. We are heading down a path that is bring back segregation, racial divide, elitism, class warfare and authoritarianism. You know, the very things we protested against in the 1970’s? The left is bringing them back


12 posted on 01/12/2021 8:16:17 PM PST by realcleanguy
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To: Secret Agent Man

Asking “what if they did it to me?” is a very sound justification.


13 posted on 01/12/2021 8:18:12 PM PST by MountainWalker
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Politicians here are owned by big tech. It takes a non-paid off by big tech foreigner to see them as the threat they are.


14 posted on 01/12/2021 8:22:33 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. .... )
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

I can see that.


15 posted on 01/12/2021 8:30:21 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Hope is not a plan. -- Matthew Bracken)
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To: MountainWalker

these are people that by and large despise Trump

they only want this kind of treatment done to people like him

they are just coming out against it because it could affect their own political skins

its not because they’re concerned about other people they don’t,like having this done to them, its a purely self-centered, cover my ass reason


16 posted on 01/12/2021 8:32:16 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

... because they know it will be done to them at the appropriate time.


17 posted on 01/12/2021 8:36:43 PM PST by glorgau
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Have a look at this.

Corporate America halts donations to Republicans who voted to overturn the election
By Jazmin Goodwin, CNN Business
Updated 0224 GMT (1024 HKT) January 13, 2021
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/10/business/citigroup-bluecross-commerce-bank-pac-donations/index.html

"AT&T: AT&T (T) released a statement Monday afternoon via its Public Policy Twitter account: 'Employees on our Federal PAC Board convened a call today and decided to suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes last week.'

CNN's parent company, WarnerMedia, is owned by AT&T."
18 posted on 01/12/2021 8:43:53 PM PST by familyop
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

Correct analysis! Heavy socialism vs. corporate fascism.

The true better alternative is many fully independent, and independent thinking, providers, with resources such that no one can subjugate them.

Yes, that’s a tall order.


19 posted on 01/12/2021 9:36:14 PM PST by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Europe getting red pilled.


20 posted on 01/12/2021 10:15:34 PM PST by Democrats hate too much
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