Instagram and Facebook accounts of former President Donald Trump are being restored after a two-year suspension.
Meta's president for global affairs, Nick Clegg, said Trump will regain access to his accounts within the next few weeks, but "new guardrails" will be instituted to deter repeat offenses.
Clegg said in a statement that social media support open debate and the free exchange of ideas. “As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms – especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States.”
After Trump petitioned Meta to unlock his Facebook and Instagram accounts, the Republican's 2024 campaign secured the decision.
On his Truth Social platform Wednesday evening, Trump taunted Facebook, writing: “FACEBOOK, which has lost Billions of Dollars in value since ‘deplatforming’ your favorite President, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account. Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution! THANK YOU TO TRUTH SOCIAL FOR DOING SUCH AN INCREDIBLE JOB. YOUR GROWTH IS OUTSTANDING, AND FUTURE UNLIMITED!!!”
Trump's social media accounts were blocked the day after the January 6, 2021 Capitol protest.
After suspending Trump indefinitely, Meta referred his case to its "Oversight Board," an independent body established to provide an independent check.” The Board upheld the decision to suspend Trump but said his punishment should have a timeline. A two-year ban followed that decision.
In retrospect, Clegg said Meta's decision to reinstate Trump was influenced by several factors, including a smooth midterm election last year and an expert opinion that “the serious risk to public safety that existed in January 2021 has sufficiently receded.”
“The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying – the good, the bad and the ugly – so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” Clegg added. “But that does not mean there are no limits to what people can say on our platform.”
A suspension of one month to two years is possible under Trump's reinstatement if he posts content that is deemed to "incite or celebrate ongoing violent events or civil unrest.”
In November, new owner Elon Musk reinstated Trump's Twitter account. As of now, he has not returned to the platform, opting instead to remain on Truth Social, though he has been widely reported to be returning to tweeting soon.
Campaign counsel Scott Gast wrote in his letter demanding Trump's ban be lifted that the suspension “dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse” if it was not lifted, it would be “a deliberate attempt by a private company to silence Mr. Trump’s political voice.”
“Moreover,” Gast said, “every day that President Trump’s political voice remains silenced furthers an inappropriate interference in the American political and election process.”
During the time Trump was banned from Facebook, Katie Harbath headed the organization's public policy team.
“I think Trump wants to get back on Facebook because he needs it for fundraising and building up an email list,” reported Harbath for HuffPost. “My gut is, first and foremost, this is money.”
If Trump returns to power, will the Russia-Ukraine war end, will inflation go down, will banks stop raising interest rates, and will layoffs stop?
We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
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