MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. The rules of social media conduct should not be left up solely to companies, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov concluded Tuesday, adding that they should be regulated by law.

"It is obvious that companies that make money by acting as a platform for a large number of people should comply with certain obligations. These obligations must be regulated. To leave it up to the companies’ random judgement is, probably, wrong," the spokesman said.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, the ban and the subsequent unban of President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, made by the company management’s decision, became a lesson for everyone. "This is a lesson for the entire world," Peskov said.

He underscored that the companies build up their customer loyalty for years, but lose it in mere days or weeks. "Of course, this is a reason for states and citizens to think of how carefully we should all deal with such hegemony of large informational companies and their voluntarism, which must be put into legal framework," he concluded.

Trump ban

Previously, Facebook, which also owns Instagram, decided to deprive Donald Trump of his ability to post messages on these social networks until his term in office expires on January 20, the day of Biden’s inauguration. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Trump had intended to use his remaining time in office to obstruct the peaceful and legal transition of power. Later, Trump’s accounts were reactivated. Twitter permanently banned Trump’s account, citing the outgoing president’s violation of its terms of service and the possibility that Trump could use the platform to incite violence.​

On January 6, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC to stop lawmakers from officially certifying the results of the November presidential election in a last-ditch attempt to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from becoming the new president. One protester was shot dead during the unrest. In addition, three others died, the causes of their deaths were qualified as medical emergencies.