Meta reinstates Donald Trump'S Facebook and Instagram account
Meta banned the former President following the January 6 attack on the Capitol two years ago.
On Wednesday, Meta announced that it would allow ex-President Donald Trump to return to Facebook and Instagram two years after suspension.
In a blog post on Wednesday, Meta announced that he would reinstate Trump's accounts sometime in the next few weeks. However, if Trump again violates Meta's content policies, the company said his accounts would be subject to suspensions, ranging from one month to two years, "depending on the severity of the violation."
"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," Clegg said in Wednesday's blog post. "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."
As part of Wednesday's announcement, Meta updated its policies to account for content that doesn't explicitly violate its rules but could encourage violent or harmful behaviour similar to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. If this content is identified in the future, Meta said it would restrict its distribution by limiting users' ability to share a post. The company may also deny account access to advertising tools.
Two years ago, Trump was banned from Facebook and Instagram following the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol. That time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Trump was suspended for provoking violence and praising rioters' actions. Meta was one of the first platforms to ban the ex-president, effectively removing all of his accounts from major social media services.
In response to Meta's announcement on Wednesday, Trump stormed into the company on Truth Social. "FACEBOOK, which has lost Billions of Dollars in value since 'deplatforming' your favorite President, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account," he said. "THANK YOU TO TRUTH SOCIAL FOR DOING SUCH AN INCREDIBLE JOB."
