Meta has announced plans to lift the suspension on former United States President Donald Trump across its major platforms, Facebook and Instagram, in coming weeks.
Gatekeepers News reports that the social media giant disclosed this on Wednesday evening in a blog post by the President of Global Affairs at Meta, Nick Clegg.
Clegg wrote, “To assess whether the serious risk to public safety that existed in January 2021 has sufficiently receded, we have evaluated the current environment according to our Crisis Policy Protocol, which included looking at the conduct of the US 2022 midterm elections, and expert assessments on the current security environment.
“Our determination is that the risk has sufficiently receded, and that we should therefore adhere to the two-year timeline we set out. As such, we will be reinstating Mr. Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks. However, we are doing so with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.”
However, Clegg stated that, “In light of his (Trump’s) violations, he now faces 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.”
In 2021, Meta suspended Trump’s accounts following the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. The decision was agreed upon by Meta’s Oversight Board, which had asked Facebook to reexamine Trump’s then indefinite suspension.
Afterwards, Meta said Trump’s suspension on his Facebook and Instagram accounts would be for two years ending in January 2023, stating that the company would reassess the former president’s status.
This comes also as Elon Musk’s Twitter lifted the ban placed on Trump’s account late last year.
