The United Nations chief called Thursday for global rules to regulate powerful social media companies like Twitter and Facebook.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he believes it shouldn�t be a company that has the power to decide whether, for example, then-president Donald Trump�s Twitter account should be closed, as a questioner asked.

Rather, he said, a �mechanism� should be created �in which there is a regulatory framework with rules that allow for that to be done in line with law.�

�I do not think that we can live in a world where too much power is given to a reduced number of companies,� Guterres stressed at a news conference.

Earlier this month, Twitter ended Trump�s nearly 12-year run and shuttered his account, severing an instant line of communication to his 89 million followers that was a hallmark of his presidency. Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump.

Twitter said Trump�s tweets could incite violence following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Conservatives accused the companies of censorship and violating the First Amendment�s right to free speech.

Guterres said he is �particularly worried� about the power of social media companies.

He pointed to �the volume of information that is being gathered about each one of us, the lack of control we have about … the data related to ourselves, the fact that that data can be used not only for commercial purposes to sell to advertising companies … but also to change our behavior, and the risks of that to be used also from a political point of view for the control of citizens in countries.�

Guterres said this �requires a serious discussion� and that is one of the objectives of his �Roadmap for Digital Cooperation� launched last June.

The roadmap�s aim is to promote �a safer, more equitable digital world.�

It calls for action in eight areas including achieving universal connectivity to the Internet by 2030, �promoting trust and security in the digital environment� and �building a more effective architecture for digital cooperation,�

�Digital technology issues are too often low on political agendas,� it says.

Among the roadmap�s provisions is a call for strengthening the Internet Governance Forum, which bring people from various groups in the public and private sector together to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet, �in order to make it more responsive and relevant to current digital issues.�

(AP)