Meta ends suspension of Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are being reinstated by the social media giant Meta.
• Trump’s accounts have been suspended for more than two years his posts about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
• Trump, whose Twitter account was reinstated by Elon Musk in November, did not say if he would post on Meta platforms again.

Meta Platforms Inc said Wednesday it will reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks. His accounts were suspended for over two years after the deadly Capitol Hill attack on January 6, 2021.

The restoration of his accounts could provide a boost to Trump’s campaign. The former president, who has 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram, announced in November that he will run for the White House in 2024. These social media platforms are major vehicles for political outreach and fundraising.

In November, Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated by its new owner and CEO Elon Musk.

Meta’s critics have accused the company of lax moderating policies.

In a blog post on Wednesday, Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg assured it has “put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.”

“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,” Clegg wrote.

The Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Free Press and other groups expressed concern over Facebook’s ability to prevent any future attacks on the democratic process, with Trump still repeating his false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Free speech advocates say it is appropriate for the public to have access to messaging from political candidates, saying it was the right decision.

Meta’s decision to ban Trump was polarizing because the company had never banned an account of a sitting head of state for violating its content rules.

The former president has not posted any new tweets since getting back his account on Twitter. He said he would prefer to stick with his own app Truth Social. Last week, Trump’s campaign spokesman told Fox News Digital that being reinstated by Facebook “will be an important tool for the 2024 campaign to reach voters.”

Trump responded to his reinstatement on Meta apps, by posting on Truth Social, saying: “Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!”

He did not mention if he would post on Meta platforms again.

Source: Axios