Nearly every major tech company has taken some action against President Trump's accounts as of midday Thursday following the chaotic riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
The big picture: With just two weeks left in office, Donald Trump has lost access to most of his social media megaphone.
Twitch, the Amazon-owned live video streaming platform, disabled President Trump's account, a spokesperson confirmed to Axios on Thursday.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a string of platform efforts to take action on Trump's accounts following his calls for violence that resulted in the historic riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
President Trump is banned from posting on his Facebook and Instagram accounts for at least the next two weeks until the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden is complete, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post Thursday.
Why it matters: It's an extraordinary step for Facebook to take, given that the company has been one of the slowest to take action against the President's account and has historically prioritized free speech, especially for world leaders.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk saw his net worth grew to over $185 billion as of Thursday, surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world's richest man, CNBC reports.
The big picture: Tesla's stock price skyrocketed in 2020, making the electric car company more valuable than the world's top seven traditional automakers in a year marked by massive economic turmoil. The outspoken CEO responded Thursday to the news that he was now the world's richest man, tweeting: "How strange ... well, back to work."
Georgia's election results handing Senate control to Democrats mean the incoming Biden administration can fill key seats at the agencies that regulate tech.
Why it matters: That will give Democrats a chance to turn tech policy talk into action and advance legislation on issues like privacy and competition.
Wednesday's assault on the U.S. Capitol was an appalling shock to most Americans, but to far-right true believers it was the culmination of a long-unfolding epic.
The big picture: A growing segment of the American far right, radicalized via social media and private online groups, views anyone who bucks President Trump's will as evil. That includes Democrats, the media, celebrities, judges and officeholders — even conservatives, should they cross the president.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat all took their strongest actions yet to block President Trump after his messages egged on misinformation-fueled mobs storming the Capitol Wednesday.
Yes, but: Many critics say the social media companies bear some responsibility for the day's chaos for not reining in Trump sooner and harder — and the brief suspensions fell short of calls for the networks to permanently ban Trump's account for repeated rule violations.
A Snapchat spokesperson confirmed late Wednesday evening that the company locked President Trump's Snapchat account, making it the fourth major platform to take action on Trump's social media accounts.
Details: The company made the decision because it believes the account promotes and spreads hate and incites violence, the spokesperson said.
Facebook on Wednesday banned President Trump from posting for 24 hours after finding two of his incendiary posts violated its policy. The move comes after CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared the situation in Washington, D.C., an "emergency" and said the company was considering "additional measures" to keep people safe, according to an internal memo obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: President Trump has been using social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, to get out his message, which has included continued baseless claims of election fraud and praise for those who occupied the Capitol.
After Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Twitter removed three of the president's tweets and locked his account for 12 hours, saying it may ban him if he doesn't stop breaking its rules with his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Why it matters: It's Twitter's strongest action against the president's account to date. A number of groups have called on Facebook and Twitter to fully suspend Trump's accounts.
President Trump last night signed an executive orderprohibiting transactions with eight Chinese apps, including Ant Group's Alipay, arguing they pose a national security threat.
Why it matters: This is the latest example of ratcheting up economic tensions with China, using private companies as pawns.
Year-end sales numbers are telling Facebook executives that their big bet on hardware is starting to pay off.
Driving the news: Facebook's hardware team found itself just where it hoped to be for the holiday shopping season: under the Christmas tree, with both Quest 2 VR systems and Portal smart screens delivering better-than-expected sales.
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