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Will Donald Trump be banned from Twitter and Facebook forever? Sacha Baron Cohen says '12 hours is not enough'

The temporary lock reflects Trump's violation of Twitter and Facebook rules. The platforms are now considering a permanent ban if this bahavior continues

Supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building on January 6 to disrupt the congressional meeting being held to confirm Democrat Joe Biden's election win. They scaled the building, broke into the US Congress to disrupt the legislative session. These protests were allegedly encouraged by Trump, who later took to Twitter and said that this fury needs to be peaceful. He also added, "Go home, we love you." He described the rioters as patriots. 

Following these social media interactions, Facebook and Twitter decided to lock Trump's account on their platforms for 12 hours. Facebook told the BBC: "The violent protests in the Capitol today are a disgrace. We prohibit incitement and calls for violence on our platform. We are actively reviewing and removing any content that breaks these rules." Facebook's VP of integrity Guy Rosen called this 'an emergency situation' and said that a video where Trump addressed his supporters, telling them to 'go home' while reiterating allegations of voter fraud contributed to the risk of ongoing violence and so was being removed. Another of the deleted tweets from Trump's account referred to him slamming VP Mike Pence for lacking the "courage" to do what was necessary.

Twitter said it has locked Trump's account for 12 hours and warned for the first time that it may suspend him permanently. The temporary lock reflects Trump's violation of the Twitter rules, the company said. "We have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity Policy," Twitter said. "This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."

The micro-blogging site also added that 'future violations' will result in the permanent suspension of his account. Facebook did the same after it removed a video of him posting to his supporters, who participated in the riot. Trump will also face 24 hours of being banned from Instagram. 

Many have called for Trump's account to be banned for good, including actor Sacha Baron Cohen. "Facebook and Twitter giving Trump a little time out is NOT ENOUGH. Trump instigated an act of domestic terrorism against America. Facebook and Twitter have banned other extremists PERMANENTLY. They must ban Trump PERMANENTLY. NOW," he wrote.

Many echo this sentiment and demand that he never returns to Twitter. "Facebook, Twitter & Youtube have temporarily banned Trump. He is now frantically trying to remember his password to his Myspace page!! @pattonoswalt," one user wrote. "Wait. Twitter just banned me because I was tweeting my thoughts on our government & their lack of integrity. Yet, they have allowed Trump to tweet his nonsense for 4 years. Really Twitter?," another questioned. "Thinking about the titanic tantrum Trump is probably throwing right now because Twitter banned him from tweeting anymore until tomorrow," another wrote. 

It remains to be seen whether Trump will be banned for good, as he continues to support the riots. Considering Trump has been violating Twitter guidelines for a while now, his days might just be numbered.   This isn't the first time Twitter has taken strong action against Trump. After the results of the elections were announced, it would add a disclaimer to Trump's tweets, whenever he tried to claim voter fraud.