Meta said that it would reactivate Trump’s accounts in the coming weeks, adding that if Trump breaches Meta’s content policies again, his accounts will be revoked for one month to two years, based on the severity of the offence.
Following the tragic assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2016, the social media giant blacklisted the former president.
“As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms – especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States,” Nick Clegg President, Global Affairs at Meta, said. “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.”
Recently, Meta revised its policy to account for information that does not clearly break its rules but may incite violent or damaging activity comparable to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. If this content is detected in the future, Meta stated that it would be restricted from being distributed, such as limiting a user’s capacity to share a post. In addition, the corporation may limit an account’s exposure to advertising tools.
At the time of the Capitol incident, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Trump had been suspended for inciting violence and supporting the conduct of the protestors. Meta was among the first networks to ban the former president, eliminating all of his accounts from popular social media platforms.
Meta initially banned Trump indefinitely, but the business subsequently reversed its decision after obtaining advice from its Oversight Board, an internal team of specialists that advise the company on content moderation choices. The board claimed that an indefinite ban was unacceptable and asked Meta to develop new standards for managing damaging comments from public figures.
