American technology and social media conglomerate Goal announced this Wednesday that in the coming weeks “end the suspension” of the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Donald Trump.
“The public has to be able to hear what politicians are saying in order to make decisions,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of international affairs, said in a statement.
“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t limits to what people can say on our platform. When there is a risk of damage in the real world – a high risk that justifies an intervention by Meta in the public debate – we will act ”, she specified.
The former president was excluded from Facebook on January 7, 2021, while he was still in power, for having encouraged his followers during the attack on the Capitol in Washington the day before.
It was an unprecedented decision, imitated at the time by most of the major social networks, including Twitter.
In June 2021, Facebook decided that the ban would last for two years, and that the Republican billionaire would return when “the risks to public safety” had “gone away.”
The suspension “should never happen again to a sitting president or to anyone who does not deserve sanctions!” Trump reacted on his Truth Social account, the social network he launched last year.
Last week Trump officially asked to return to Facebook. His lawyer addressed a letter to Meta founder and president Mark Zuckerberg, asking him not to “reduce a presidential candidate to silence.”
The politician had already been reinstated on Twitter on November 19, 2022, four days after announcing his presidential candidacy for 2024.
However, he does not post a message yet, and communicates mainly through his own platform, Truth Social. It is also not known if he will return to Facebook or Instagram.
Independent Advisory Panel Upholds Trump’s Indefinite Suspension From Facebook
Facebook is at the center of a debate among advocates of stricter moderation of content posted on social networks.
“If Trump publishes infringing content again, it will be removed and will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the infringement,” said Meta’s head of international affairs.
With information from Afp.
