The German government has expressed scepticism regarding Twitter's decision to block accounts associated with US President Donald Trump after a riot at the Capitol last week that some accuse him of having incited.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said that it was the place of the state - not of companies that operate social networks - to monitor political communication and prevent incitement to violence.
"The state, the legislature, should set a framework for this," Seibert said.
Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter last week "due to the risk of further incitement of violence," the company said.
It came amid a purge by big tech companies of the online platforms used by Trump and his supporters.
Seibert said that the freedom of opinion is a fundamental right of "elementary significance".
"Seen from this angle, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the US president have now been permanently blocked."
Merkel herself does not have a Twitter account, although Seibert does and many German government ministers do.
Australian Associated Press