Meta lifts ban: Trump gets Instagram and Facebook accounts back

Meta unlocks
Trump gets Instagram and Facebook accounts back

Donald Trump will soon be able to communicate via Facebook and Instagram again. Two years after his ban, the meta group will unlock his accounts again. It is unclear whether the ex-president wants to return to the networks at all.

Former US President Donald Trump is allowed to return to the Internet platforms Facebook and Instagram. The Republican’s two-year ban will be lifted in the coming weeks, said the policy chief of the Facebook group Meta, Nick Clegg.

After his supporters stormed the seat of the US Parliament in Washington in January 2021, Trump’s accounts were blocked on several major online platforms. At the time, he not only expressed sympathy for the rioters, but, according to critics, incited the violent crowd with a speech. Trump had previously used his online channels for months to spread the repeatedly refuted claim that he was cheated out of a victory against Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. At the time, the platform operators feared that Trump could trigger further violence if he continued to incite his supporters.

Currently no danger

The Facebook group originally banned Trump from the platform until further notice. However, Meta’s independent oversight body, which can scrutinize content and account decisions, concluded that an indefinite ban was not covered by the network’s rules. It decided that Trump’s accounts should initially only be blocked for two years – and then had to be reassessed.

It has now been concluded that there is no longer a risk to public safety, as there was in January 2021, Clegg explained. “The suspension was an extraordinary decision under extraordinary circumstances.” At the same time, he emphasized that Trump had to abide by the rules of the platform and that he was threatened with harsher penalties for violations as a repeat offender.

Trump has had access to Twitter, his previously preferred network, since November. Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk released the account after a vote among Twitter users. So far, however, Trump has made no move to return to the short message service, sticking with the Twitter copy he founded, Truth Social. However, given his intention to fight for a return to the White House in the 2024 presidential election, a greater presence on online platforms could come in handy for Trump.

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