Facebook parent Meta is restoring former President Donald Trump’s personal account, ending a two-year suspension imposed in the wake of the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
The company said in a blog post on Wednesday that it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure that there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules, whether they are political candidates or world leaders. .
“The public needs to be able to hear what their politicians are saying – the good, the bad and the ugly – so they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” wrote Nick Clegg, Meta’s vice president of global affairs.
Clegg said that when there is a “clear risk” to real-world harm, the meta will intervene.
Trump infringing content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for one month to two years, depending on the severity of the violation. Facebook suspended Trump on January 7, 2021, for praising people who engaged in violent acts at the Capitol the day before. But the company had previously resisted calls — including from its own employees — to delete Trump’s account.
Facebook is not only the world’s largest social media site, but has been a significant source of fundraising revenue for Trump’s campaigns, which spent millions of dollars on the company’s ads in 2016 and 2020. Running for the White House would not only allow Trump to communicate directly with his 34 million followers — dramatically more than the 4.8 million who currently follow him on his own site Truth Social — but also allow him to directly fundraise. Will also allow
During the suspension, his supporters were able to raise money for him, but could not run advertisements directly from him or in his voice.
Supporters of President Donald Trump attend a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Responding to the news, Trump criticized Facebook’s decision to suspend his account as he praised Truth Social.
“Facebook, which has lost billions of dollars in value since “deplatforming” me, your favorite president, just announced they are restoring my account. Never again like this with a current president or anyone else Must be one who is not worthy of vengeance!” He has written.
Other social media companies, including Snapchat, where he remains suspended, also removed him from their platforms following the rebellion. He was recently reinstated at Twitter after Elon Musk took over the company. He hasn’t tweeted yet.
Civil rights groups and others on the left immediately condemned Meta’s move. Heidi Berichs, founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and a member of the Real Facebook Oversight Board, said having Trump back on Facebook sends a signal to other people with large online audiences that they can break the rules without lasting consequences. . Which has criticized the platform’s efforts.
Berich said of Meta’s decision, “I’m not surprised but it’s a disaster.” “Facebook created a loophole for Trump to walk right through. He incited a rebellion on Facebook. And now he’s back.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson described the decision as “a prime example of putting profit over the safety of the people” and a “serious mistake”.
“It is amazing enough that someone can sow hatred, fuel conspiracies, and incite a violent insurrection in our nation’s capitol building, and Mark Zuckerberg still believes that is not enough to remove someone from his platform,” he said. Told.
Former US President Donald Trump announces he is running for the presidency for a third term as he speaks at Mar-a-Lago on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
But Jamil Jafar, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called reinstatement “the right call — not because the former president has any right to be on stage, but because the public is interested in hearing directly from political candidates.” “
ACLU has also called it the right step.
“Like it or not, President Trump is one of the nation’s preeminent political figures and the public has a keen interest in hearing his speech. In fact, some of Trump’s most offensive social media posts have been cited in lawsuits filed against him and his administration.” important evidence,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The largest social media companies are central actors when it comes to our collective ability to speak — and listen to the speech of others — online. They should err on the side of allowing a wide range of political speech, even if it is abusive.
Clegg said that in light of his past violations, Trump now faces enhanced penalties for repeat offenders. Such penalties “would apply to other public figures whose accounts have been reinstated from suspension related to civil unrest under our updated protocols.”
If Trump – or anyone else – posts content that doesn’t violate Facebook’s rules, but is otherwise harmful and could lead to events like the January 6 uprising, Meta says it won’t remove it But this may limit its reach. This includes praising the QAnon conspiracy theory or attempting to illegitimate the upcoming election.
Meta said Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram would be restored in the coming weeks. Banned from mainstream social media, Trump has been relying on Truth Social, which he launched after being blocked from Twitter.
While Trump has publicly insisted he has no intention of returning to Twitter, he has been discussing doing so in recent weeks, according to two people familiar with the plans who declined to be named to discuss private conversations. Spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although it has been culturally absorbed by newer rivals like TikTok, Facebook remains the world’s largest social media site and an incredibly powerful political platform, especially among older Americans, who are more likely to vote and participate in campaigns. Most likely to give money to
Throughout his term as president, Trump’s use of social media has presented a significant challenge to the major social media platforms, which engage the public with concerns of their elected leaders being misinformed, harassing and inciting violence. Trying to balance the need.
The ACLU’s Romero said, “In a healthy information ecosystem, the decisions of any one company won’t have as much political weight, and we expect new platforms to emerge to challenge the hegemony of the social media giants.”
