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Does Twitter regret banning Trump?INTL

Does Twitter regret banning Trump?

Twitter’s (TWTR) shares fell 8% after the social media platform banned U.S. President Donald Trump’s account. Trump, who is set to leave the White House on January 20, boasted a whopping 88 million followers and his explosive tweets were shared billions of times.

Twitter’s decision was a controversial one, as Republicans argued it undermined the freedom of expression of one of the platform’s most popular users, as well as that of his followers. Love or hate him, it seems the Republicans really have taken this to heart as the drop in share price knocked off nearly USD 2.5b from Twitter’s market value. It seems that social media platforms can quickly be abandoned overnight.

why it matters
Twitter was not the only social media platform to ban Trump's account recently. Facebook (FB), to name just one, also banned President Trump's account and, similarly, suffered the consequences (though were not as heavily hit). These actions raise larger questions around what these platforms can and can't do, and whether stricter regulation should be explored under the upcoming Democratic administration.