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More than two years after Meta renewed former President Donald Trump’s “indefinite” suspension from Facebook, the company has decided to reinstate his account. In a statement, Meta said Trump will be able to access his Facebook and Instagram accounts in the “coming weeks” but that there will be “new guardrails in place to prevent recidivism.”
The decision comes after Trump’s campaign reportedly pushed for the former president to be allowed back on Facebook ahead of the upcoming presidential primary.
Trump was originally booted from Facebook after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol after publicly praising the rioters. Meta’s handling of the initial suspension, which it quickly upgraded from a 24-hour ban to an “indefinite” suspension, has been heavily criticized, including by its own oversight board. In its decision on Trump’s suspension, the board criticized Meta for not following her own rules and trying to “evade her responsibilities.”
Meta then reviewed the suspension and said it would last at least two years. However, the company confirmed that Trump would eventually be allowed back on Facebook. Nick Clegg, Meta’s chief political officer, said at the time that the former president would be subject to “new, more severe penalties” for future policy violations.
Now, Clegg says Trump and other public figures reinstated after suspensions “related to civil unrest” will face new suspensions that will continue at least a month, for future offenses. He added Meta would also take steps to limit the reach of Trump’s posts if they “contribute to the type of risk that happened on January 6, such as content delegitimizing an upcoming election or involving QAnon.” related”. Although Meta may not remove these posts entirely, he said the company would consider removing the share button and banning them from the company’s advertising and recommendation systems.
Clegg also confirmed that the company’s controversial “news policy” could still apply to Trump. “In the event that Mr. Trump posts content that violates the letter of the Community Standards, but in accordance with our Newsworthy Content Policy, we believe there is a public interest in knowing that Mr. Trump’s statement that outweighs any potential harm, we may also choose to limit the distribution of such posts but allow them to be visible on Mr. Trump’s account,” Clegg wrote.
Meta’s decision comes just months after Elon Musk also restored the former president’s Twitter account. Trump has so far refused to resume his Twitter habit – he took to Truth Social last year – but reportedly plans to return, according to a recent report Rolling Stone. Although the former President was known to prefer Twitter, his Facebook following has also been a key asset to both of his previous campaigns.
Trump’s suspension was also the first major test for Meta’s oversight board, which the company formed to help it weigh sensitive content moderation and policy decisions. In an explanation On Wednesday, the board said it had “no role” in the company’s decision to reinstate Trump and plans to “release a more comprehensive analysis of this case in a future quarterly transparency report.”
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