Twitter shifts US presidential accounts to Biden team

[SAN FRANCISCO] As US President Joe Biden took office on Wednesday, Twitter handed him the reins of an official @POTUS account as part of the transfer of power.

The one-to-many messaging service gave Mr Biden's team control of all the official White House accounts, and activated a new @SecondGentleman handle for the husband of the country's first female vice-president Kamala Harris.

Accounts for the White House, President, Vice-President, First Lady and White House Press Secretary "have now inherited their new institutional usernames," according to Twitter.

Tweets posted at the accounts prior to Mr Biden being sworn in as the 46th US president will be archived, and the accounts will not automatically retain followers who signed on during the Trump administration.

Outgoing president Donald Trump was an obsessive Twitter user from his personal account - which was banned by the platform over his incitements to violence - while also using the official accounts associated with the presidency.

"There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face," Mr Biden said in a tweet at @POTUS.

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"That's why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families."

A message tweeted from the @VP account, Ms Harris tweeted "Ready to serve" from her @VP account.

In his @SecondGentleman profile, Douglas Emhoff described himself as a proud husband.

Mr Biden's team also inherited the official @WhiteHouse, @PressSec, and @FLOTUS accounts.

After the unprecedented violence in the seat of Congress, Mr Trump was banned for inciting the rioters - on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google-owned YouTube and Snapchat.

AFP