Jan. 13 (UPI) — Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube late Tuesday said it has suspended the account of President Donald Trump, becoming the latest tech company to restrict the online accounts of the outgoing president following last week’s siege of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
The online video platform said in a tweet that it has removed new content uploaded to Trump’s YouTube account following a review that concluded it had violated its policies “and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence.”
It was unclear which video had been taken down and for what policy violations, but YouTube said the channel now has one strike and will be suspended from uploading new content for seven days.
It also said “given the ongoing concerns about violence,” it has indefinitely disabled comments on Trump’s channel “as we’ve done to other channels where there are safety concerns found in the comments section.”
The suspension by YouTube makes it the latest tech company to sanction the president over online content after his supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, in protest to Congress certifying the electoral vote win by President-elect Joe Biden. At least five people died during the siege.
On Thursday, Facebook and Instagram banned the outgoing president, until at least after Biden’s inauguration, followed the next day by Twitter, which permanently suspended Trump’s personal account.
