Meta will reportedly end the suspension of former President Donald Trump from Instagram and Facebook and will allow him to return to the platforms with “new guardrails” to prevent repeat offenses.
Trump had been banned from numerous social media platforms after some of his supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
On Wednesday, Axios reported that Nick Clegg, the company’s president for global affairs, told them that Trump’s accounts would be reinstated in coming weeks.
“We’ve always believed that Americans should be able to hear from the people who want to lead the country,” Clegg said in a statement to Axios. “We don’t want to stand in the way of that.”
Trump has 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million followers on Instagram. Twitter has since announced that Trump could return to his account, but he has so far stuck to Truth Social, a platform created to challenge the Big Tech companies.
Clegg wrote in a post at the company website that there would be new restrictions including “heightened penalties for repeat offenses — penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol.”
He went on to say Trump could be suspended again.
“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 added.
Among those critical of the decision by Meta was Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California.
“Trump incited an insurrection. And tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power. He’s shown no remorse. No contrition,” Schiff tweeted.
“Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous. @facebook caved, giving him a platform to do more harm,” he added.
Clegg claimed the decision to allow Trump back on the platforms was not a business decision.
“In general terms, it’s not great for business to be, you know, dragged into and embroiled in controversy,” he explained. “I am the the ultimate decision maker on these kinds of issues in the company.”
Here’s more about the ban on Trump:
Trump Banned From Using Facebook And Twitter At Least Until Inaugurationwww.youtube.com
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