Meta President for Global Affairs Nick Clegg explains why former President Trump has had access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts reinstated after a two-year ban on ‘Special Report.’
Meta will be ending former President Trump’s suspension across its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram, according to a Wednesday blog post from the company.
In the blog post, Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, said Trump’s suspension on both Facebook and Instagram will be lifted “in the coming weeks.”
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Former President Donald Trump announces a third run for president as he speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022. (AP / AP Newsroom)
“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,” Clegg wrote.
The social media company first moved to block Trump following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. That decision was upheld by the platform’s Oversight Board in May 2021, though the board asked Facebook to reexamine Trump’s then-“indefinite” suspension and “decide the appropriate penalty,” as FOX Business previously reported.
In June 2021, Meta Platforms determined it would do a suspension on his Facebook and Instagram accounts for two years ending in January 2023, at which point the company would reassess the former president’s status.
A smartphone with Facebook’s logo is seen with new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration taken October 28, 2021. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration / Reuters Photos)
“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,” Clegg said in the blog post on Wednesday.Â
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If Trump posts content that constitutes a violation upon being reinstated, it would be taken down and his account would face another ban, according to Clegg. He said the length of such a suspension, which could range from one month to two years, would be based “on the severity of the violation.”
The company has also created updated protocols for posts that do “not violate our Community Standards but that contributes to the sort of risk that materialized on January 6,” according to Clegg.
FILE – In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia. The Trump administration is accusing Facebook in a lawsuit of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of foreigners with special visas to fill mo ((AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) / AP Newsroom)
Clegg acknowledged that “reasonable people” will have varying opinions on Meta’s decision to allow Trump back on its platforms.
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“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.”
Meta Platform’s stock was trading at about $141.50 on Wednesday, down roughly 1.1% from the prior day’s close and nearly 52% over the past year.
