Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook condemn the US Capitol violence

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook have condemned the violence in the US Capitol.

“Today marks a sad and shameful chapter in our nation’s history. Those responsible for this insurrection should be held to account, and we must complete the transition to President-elect Biden’s administration. It’s especially when they a re challenged that our ideals matter most,” said Tim Cook in a tweet.

Pichai in an email to Google employees said that the company “strongly” condemned the “lawlessness and violence”.

“Holding free and safe elections and resolving our differences peacefully are foundational to the functioning of democracy. The lawlessness and violence occurring on Capitol Hill today is the antithesis of democracy and we strongly condemn it,” he said in the note.

Pichai also said that the Google leadership was “checking in” on its employees in D.C. He also promised to take “extra precautionary steps” that may affect its offices or buildings.

The responses from tech stalwarts come after protestors supporting US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capital on Wednesday.

Earlier, Twitter and Facebook suspended Trump's account from posting to their platforms following the violent protests. Twitter locked Trump’s account for 12 hours. It also warned that future violations could lead to a permanent suspension of Trump’s account.

Facebook later said it had barred Trump’s account from posting anything for 24 hours.

“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence,” Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice president of integrity, said on Twitter.