The Christian Science Monitor

Europe criticizes Trump Twitter ban – but not for reason you'd expect

When Twitter banned Donald Trump, the chattering class in Europe began twittering.

The American president was stripped of his digital megaphone? Based on what criteria? And, ultimately, who should be able to decide?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was clear: She found Twitter’s decision “problematic” – not because of the ban, but because of who imposed it. Rather than private companies having final say on the “fundamental right” to expression, it should be “the law and within the framework defined by legislators,” said her spokesman.

Tyson Barker, head of technology policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations, checked the Twitter account of

How they do it in GermanyBut it doesn’t always work

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