Facebook parent company Meta plans on reinstating Donald Trump’s account, citing the need for the public to hear from the former US president as he seeks re-election.
"The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying—the good, the bad and the ugly—so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box," Meta President for Global Affairs Nick Clegg wrote in the announcement.
The company plans on lifting the suspension in the “coming weeks,” allowing Trump to post on both his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Meta’s decision will no doubt infuriate Trump’s opponents, who are concerned he’ll use his social media activity to discredit future and past elections or incite civil unrest. But in response, Meta says Trump’s account will now face “heightened penalties for repeat offenses,” which could lead to another suspension if he violates the company’s rules again.
“In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” Clegg added.
The company has codified the potential punishments Trump could face in updated rules about how Meta will address public figures inciting civil unrest. “For most violations, a public figure will have a one-month restriction from creating content,” the rules say. “More serious violations, such as sharing a link to a statement from a terrorist group in the aftermath of an attack, will merit either a 6- or 12-month restriction from creating content. In cases where a violation is severe, we’ll restrict the account for 2 years.”
In addition, Clegg said Meta could limit the reach of Trump’s posts on Facebook and Instagram if they’re found to be promoting misinformation, such as QAnon conspiracy theories.
As an example, Clegg said: “We may limit the distribution of such posts, and for repeated instances, may temporarily restrict access to our advertising tools. This step would mean that content would remain visible on Mr. Trump’s account but would not be distributed in people’s Feeds, even if they follow Mr. Trump.”
Meta originally suspended Trump’s account indefinitely for his role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. But the social media giant later limited the suspension to two years, after Meta’s independent Oversight Board demanded the company clarify its approach to the punishment.
The two-year suspension expired on Jan. 7, 2023. However, Meta left open room to keep the suspension in place if the company found there was a risk to the public of letting Trump return.
“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,” Clegg said. “Our determination is that the risk has sufficiently receded, and that we should therefore adhere to the two-year timeline we set out.”
Trump was also banned from Twitter in the wake of Jan. 6, but his account was reinstated last year after Elon Musk took over the social network. He has not posted anything new, however. (His last post is about him not attending President Biden's inauguration.) He has instead limited his statements to his own social network, Truth Social.
Trump remains banned from YouTube. In 2021, the company said it was open to reinstating him, but only if there's no potential for more political violence.