Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has said that former US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will be reinstated in the coming weeks.
Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Meta Nick Clegg, made the announcement in a blog post on Wednesday.
Meta suspended Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for two years on January 7, 2021, following his admiration for persons involved in violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances. The normal state of affairs is that the public should be able to hear from a former President of the US, and a declared candidate for that office again, on our platforms,” Clegg elaborated in the blog post.
“Like any other Facebook or Instagram user, Mr Trump is subject to our Community Standards. In light of his violations, he now also faces heightened penalties for repeat offences – penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol,” he added.
Clegg also claimed that Meta is reinstalling Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, however, with new guardrails in place to “deter repeat offences”.
“We know that any decision we make on this issue will be fiercely criticised. Reasonable people will disagree over whether it is the right decision. But a decision had to be made, so we have tried to make it as best we can in a way that is consistent with our values and the process we established…,” he stated.
