The Facebook and Instagram accounts of Donald Trump are set to be reactivated by Meta. This will officially lift the ban on the former U.S. president that was imposed two years ago.
This means that Meta will allow the ex-POTUS to post again on Instagram and Facebook. It was said that the company would be restoring Trump’s accounts in the coming weeks, with no specific date given.
It can be recalled that Trump was banned on both social media platforms after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. At that time, other sites such as Twitter and Google’s YouTube also blocked the then-president after determining that allowing him on the platforms could pose risks of potential further incitement to violence.
While he will not be allowed back on Facebook and Instagram, Twitter opted for a permanent ban at that time. But with Elon Musk taking over the company, there is a chance he would return there as well.
As mentioned on CNBC, the suspensions were mainly imposed on Trump after a mob charged into the U.S. Capitol. The riot also resulted in some deaths; thus, an investigation was launched. At any rate, it was Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, who announced the company’s decision to allow the former president on Facebook and Instagram again.
“As a general rule, we do not 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,” he said. “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.”
The executive further stated in a blog post, “We know that any decision we make on this issue will be fiercely criticized. 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 in response to the Oversight Board’s guidance.”