January 08, 2021

Campaigning Group Docks Boat Outside Twitter CEO’s San Francisco Home Demanding Permanent Action Following Violent Coup

SAN FRANCISCO - Two days after a mob of far-right extremists stormed the Capitol, campaigning group SumOfUs has docked a 30-foot boat outside Jack Dorsey’s home in the Bay area with a massive “Ban Trump Banner” urging Twitter to remove President Trump from the platform permanently. The boat is visible several meters away from China Beach, which is open to the public.

Photos and video of the event can be found here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumofus/albums/72157717794101917

This is part of an online campaign which has grown exponentially in the past 24 hours, with already 70,000 people signing a petition to Twitter and Facebook’s CEOs demanding they take immediate and lasting action.

On Tuesday during the height of the violent protests, Trump tweeted about Pence’s lack of “courage” to do what is necessary -- egging on supporters to “stay strong” as they violently stormed the Capitol. In response, tech platforms placed temporary suspensions on Trump’s accounts -- with Twitter placing a 12 hour suspension which has now lapsed, and Facebook suspending his account “at least” until Trump’s term is over. But this week’s violence proves that these measures are not nearly enough.

“Donald Trump has a proven track record of utilizing social media to post and amplify harmful disinformation - from Covid lies, to baseless claims of election fraud, as well as his incitement of violence,” said Emma Ruby-Sachs, executive director of SumOfUS. “He is another egregious example of Big Tech's love affair with extremism and violence. They need to ban him for good and then fix the algorithms that grew this terrorist movement.”

Pressure on social media platforms continues to build ahead of a much anticipated battle in Congress to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from liability for content posted by their users.

"Right now, extremist content drives engagement and profits and that's why the platforms have been so terrible at regulating themselves. The only way to stop this from happening again, is to pass laws that protect all of us from the tech giants," Ruby-Sachs continued. “We sincerely hope Jack Dorsey hears our call, and shows that he’s willing to take bold measures to protect his users, even if it means upsetting the bullies. There’s too much at stake for tech giants to shirk their responsibility in how their platforms are being used to destroy our democracy.”

For media inquiries, email Rewan Al-Haddad: rewan@sumofus.org

About SumOfUs

SumOfUS is an advocacy nonprofit organization and online community with nearly 17 million members worldwide. We combine and amplify consumers’ voices to make sure regulators and corporations around the world hear them. Together, our community of millions act as a global consumer watchdog – running and winning campaigns to hold the biggest companies in the world accountable. More information can be found at www.SumOfUs.org