Key takeaways:
- Meta announced that former President Donald Trump will be reinstated on Facebook and Instagram “in the coming weeks”
- The decision to suspend Trump from the platforms was due to “extreme and highly unusual circumstances”
- Trump now faces heightened penalties for repeat offenses, and it remains to be seen how he will use his reinstated accounts
Meta, the tech giant, announced Wednesday that former President Donald Trump will be reinstated on Facebook and Instagram “in the coming weeks.” This comes over two years after his indefinite suspension from the platforms.
Nick Clegg, the company’s president of global affairs, said in a press release that Trump’s reinstatement will come “with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.” He noted that the then-president’s accounts were indefinitely suspended “following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, 2021.
Clegg called the decision to suspend Trump from the platforms the product of “extreme and highly unusual circumstances” and reminded users that the suspension was indefinite “with the lack of clear criteria for when and whether suspended accounts will be restored.”
Meta’s independent oversight board had upheld the decision to suspend Trump, but criticized the open-endedness of the suspension. In light of his violations, Trump now faces heightened penalties for repeat offenses, which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under the updated protocol.
It remains to be seen how Trump will use his reinstated accounts, and whether he will abide by the new guardrails in place. Meta has not yet provided any further details on the reinstated accounts or the new guardrails.
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