Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that it will lift the two-year suspension of Donald Trump’s accounts in the coming weeks.
According to Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, the decision was made so that the public can hear what their politicians are saying.
The suspension was put in place after the Capitol riots in 2021 while Trump was still serving as the President of the United States.
With a large following on these platforms, the reactivation of Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts may give him an advantage, as he has plans to run for president again in 2024. Trump has over 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram, which are deemed as essential tools for political communication and fundraising today.
In a blog post, the social media company said that it has “put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offences.”
“In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” wrote Clegg.
Donald Trump: Capitol Hill riots
The decision to suspend Trump’s accounts was a controversial one for Meta, the world’s largest social media company, which had never before blocked the account of a head of state for violating its content rules.
The company removed access to Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after taking down two of his posts related to the Capitol Hill violence, including a video in which he repeated his false claim of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
The company then referred the case to its independent oversight board, which determined that the suspension was justified but its indefinite nature was not. In response, Meta announced it would review the suspension two years after it began.
Truth social
It is uncertain if and how Trump will take advantage of the opportunity to return to Facebook and Instagram.
In November, he regained access to Twitter, his former preferred online platform. He has not sent any new tweets since regaining his account and has said he prefers to use his own app, Truth Social.
However, his campaign spokesman recently stated that being back on Facebook “will be an important tool for the 2024 campaign to reach voters.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump responded to his reinstatement on Meta apps and said “Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!”
Trump did not indicate if or when he would begin posting on Meta platforms again.
