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Last Wednesday, shortly after midnight, I received news that China would indict over 50 democratic politicians under the National Security Law, a law that the regime can use against democratic forces at will.

Among them is Joshua Wong, our columnist, whose home was searched while he was in custody.

The day began with a heavy blow to freedom and democracy.

And that's how it ended, namely with the pictures from Washington DC, where far too few police officers could not stop a mob of angry Trump supporters;

the President himself had incited and praised them;

his weak, affectionate “goes home” changed nothing about the attacks, nor should it change anything.

Five people died in or around the American Capitol after a protest by people wearing their sweaters to celebrate the Holocaust.

American democracy is badly damaged.

As always, Trump had spoken out on social media.

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He can no longer do that.

Facebook and Twitter permanently blocked the American president's accounts.

As understandable as this is in relation to Trump's tweets, the decision leads to another low point this week.

Because the power struggle between a head of state and social media platforms has been decided - in favor of corporations with no democratic legitimacy.

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Never before have individual companies had so much power over what we think, know and feel.

Facebook and Twitter have no interest in justice, democracy, freedom.

If Trump is banned, why not the Chinese state party, which lies and incites and tortures, and the Iranian head of state, which lies and incites and murders?

Facebook and Twitter do not even consistently implement their own terms and conditions, let alone laws.

That (not only) American society is as shattered as the Capitol interiors is in large part their fault.

Not a single one of the major populist movements in the West would be conceivable without Twitter and Facebook.

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To the complex problem that extremists benefit greatly from their technology, Facebook and Co. have only one answer: Now that the police officer Brian D. Sicknick was murdered in the Capitol, they are reacting too late - and wrongly.

Banning the president is too simple, counterproductive and not democratically legitimized.

This decision only strengthens the belief of some Trump fans in a conspiracy.

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG.

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