German Chancellor Angela Merkel wears a protective face mask as she leaves after speaking to the media for her annual summer press conference during the coronavirus pandemic on August 28, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
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LONDON — German Chancellor Angela Merkel blasted Twitter’s decision to ban U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The right to freedom of opinion is of fundamental importance,” Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s chief spokesman, told reporters in Berlin on Monday, according to Reuters.
“Given that, the chancellor considers it problematic that the president’s accounts have been permanently suspended.”
Seibert said that, while Twitter was right to flag Trump’s inaccurate tweets about the election, banning his account altogether was a step too far.
Twitter made the move on Friday, following outcry over the riots on Capitol Hill. The move stripped the U.S. leader of his ability to communicate on the social media platform that boosted his climb to the presidency and continued to play a key role during his time in office.
It came after violence in Washington, D.C., that led to international outcry and renewed calls for Trump’s impeachment. The president had called for his followers to protest Congress’ ceremonial confirmation of Joe Biden as president.
