After lockdown: Donald Trump is allowed to use Facebook and Instagram media again

Technology group Meta is letting former US President Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram. The Republican’s access to social networks will be reactivated in the coming weeks, Meta announced on Wednesday. Trump himself has not yet commented.

His access to the two platforms was blocked after his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, during which Trump claimed the election victory was “stolen” by Democrats, who praised increasingly violent protesters, and then-Vice President Mike Pence when he was already being threatened with death by mobs. Trump is running for a second term in next year’s presidential election.

“In general, we don’t want to stand in the way of open debate on our platforms, especially around democratic elections,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said on Twitter. Clegg, who led the Liberal Democrats in the UK when they were part of the then Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, was the executive responsible for deciding whether Trump’s account would be reactivated.

The day after the storming of the Capitol, Meta had initially placed Trump’s accounts with an “indefinite” ban. At the time, the group convened an Oversight Board – a group of external lawyers, journalists and political experts paid by Meta – to review its decision. At their suggestion, the company decided that the ban should last at least two years.

Trump has not yet returned to Twitter

When the Twitter account was restored in November, Trump had expressly announced that he would prefer to continue with his own service. In an exclusive agreement, Trump assured Truth Social that he would first publish posts there. However, there are also possibilities for exceptions.

Meta braces for controversy if Trump returns to the platform, Clegg wrote. “Many people will call on us to take action against his account and the content he posts – while others will be upset if he gets banned again or some of his posts aren’t shared on our platform.” That’s why you want to be as transparent as possible with the rules and sanctions. “But a decision had to be made.”

Clegg also pointed out that the group reserves the right to restrict the distribution of contributions on the platform. As an example, he cited statements that questioned the legality of upcoming elections or were related to right-wing conspiracy myths surrounding QAnon. While such posts might be visible in Trump’s account, they would not appear in the newsfeed of users who follow him.

Google’s YouTube video service continues to block Trump from the major online platforms. So far, the Google subsidiary has only said that the block will be lifted when the risk of violence has decreased.

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