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Former US President, Donald Trump, will soon get reinstated on both Facebook and Instagram. That is said to happen “in the coming weeks”, and it follows Twitter’s decision to give Trump his account back.
Donald Trump will get reinstated on Facebook & Instagram really soon
As a reminder, Donald Trump got “indefinitely” suspended from Facebook over two years ago. The company has now decided to revert its decision. Meta said, in a statement, that Trump will be able to access his Facebook and Instagram account, but that there would be “new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses”.
This decision comes following Trump’s alleged request to get his accounts back. Why now? Well, the presidential primaries are coming up, so that could be the reason.
Why was Trump banned on Facebook to begin with? Well, that decision came following the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021. Trump publicly praised the rioters, so Meta decided to act on it.
Following pushback, Meta decided to revisit its decision, and then said that the ban would last at least two years. It was first announced that it will be indefinite. Well, two years have passed, and here we are.
Trump is facing new suspensions in case of future offenses
Nick Clegg, Meta’s top policy official, said that Trump, and other public figures who have been reinstated following suspensions “related to civil unrest”, will face new suspensions in case of future offenses. Those suspensions could last for at least a month.
That being said, Twitter returned Trump his account back in November last year, but he didn’t tweet since then. That will likely change moving forward, though.
Meta’s decision also caused some reactions from different sides. The digital rights group, Fight for the Future, for example, issued a statement following the news.
Evan Greer, the group’s director, said the following: “Discussions about online content moderation and what policies are needed to ensure human rights, free expression and safety are some of the most important and consequential societal debates in human history. When we center these debates about specific moderation decisions, especially ones involving high profile, wealthy, politically powerful individuals like Donald Trump, we are utterly missing the point”.
It remains to be seen what comes next, but chances are we’ll see more of Donald Trump on social media once again.