Washington (Caasimada Online) – Facebook parent company Meta is lifting the suspension on former President Donald Trump’s personal account after a two-year ban following the January 6th insurrection.
In a blog post, the company announced they are implementing “new guardrails” to prevent repeat violations of their rules.
If Trump posts any additional content that breaks the rules, it will be removed, and he will face suspension for anywhere between a month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation.
Not only is Facebook the world’s largest social media site, but it also served as a major source of fundraising for Trump’s campaigns, which spent millions on ads on the platform in 2016 and 2020.
The move, which comes as Trump is gearing up for a third presidential run, will allow him to communicate directly with his 34 million followers, far more than the 4.8 million that currently follow him on Truth Social, and also resume direct fundraising.
Trump has criticized Facebook’s decision to suspend his account and praised Truth Social. He said, “FACEBOOK, which has lost Billions of Dollars in value since “deplatforming” your favorite President, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account. Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!”
Civil rights groups and others have denounced Meta’s decision, stating that it sends a message to other figures with large online followings that they can break the rules without facing serious consequences.
However, Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, argues that the reinstatement is the right call as the public can hear directly from political candidates.
Meta vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, stated that in light of Trump’s previous violations, he will now face harsher penalties for repeat offenses and that these penalties will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated after suspensions related to civil unrest under the updated protocol.
If Trump or anyone else posts material that is harmful but does not violate Facebook’s rules, Meta will not remove it but will limit its reach, such as praising the QAnon conspiracy theory or trying to delegitimize an upcoming election.
Trump’s accounts will be restored in the coming weeks on Facebook and Instagram.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
