Meta has said it will end the suspension of former US President Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks but new “guardrails” will be in place to deter repeat offenders.
The company announced in a blog post that while it “took action” in “extreme and highly unusual circumstances” having banned his accounts following the 6 January Capitol insurrection.
However, Meta referred the ban to its own Oversight Board that upheld the banning order but criticised its open-ended nature and the lack of information on what an account could do to be restored. Meta then decided that two years was plenty long enough for Trump to be off its platforms.
In order to ensure that Trump behaves himself when he gets his accounts back, he — along with other public figures with previously banned accounts — will face new heightened penalties.
“In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” said Meta.
Meta also said that, as part of its updated protocol, may “limit the distribution” of posts that do not violate its Community Standards but “contributes to the sort of risk that materialised on January 6, such as content that delegitimises an upcoming election or is related to QAnon.”
It also said that repeat offenders might be temporarily kicked out of Meta’s advertising tools.
Needless to say, not everyone was taken with Meta’s decision.
BREAKING: Facebook AND Instagram are reinstating Trump on the platforms. A man who incited a violent mob to the U.S. Capitol & who continues to spread lies & endanger democracy to his millions of followers should be permanently banned. What a terrible decision. Shame on Meta.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) January 25, 2023
Donald Trump has been indicted for no crimes.
Donald Trump has been reinstated to Twitter and Facebook.
Donald Trump is running for president again.
It’s almost as if a violent, Trump-incited insurrection never happened.
Or happened, and was then forgotten.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 25, 2023
All of Meta’s given reasons for restoring Trump’s account are bad faith and laughably easy to punch through. The real reason is not hard to suss out: He’s the worst troll on the internet, and trolling is big money for social media companies. https://t.co/VKqSpFkUhi
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) January 26, 2023
