Donald Trump will be allowed back onto Facebook and Instagram following his two-year suspension, Meta has announced.
In a statement, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs said Mr Trump’s suspension had now elapsed and his accounts will be restored “in the coming weeks”.
The company indefinitely revoked Mr Trump's access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts after removing two of his posts during the Capitol Hill violence, including a video in which he reiterated his false claim of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Mr Clegg said: “People should be able to hear what politicians are saying – good, bad & ugly – to make informed choices at the ballot box.
As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open debate on our platforms, esp in context of democratic elections. People should be able to hear what politicians are saying - good, bad & ugly - to make informed choices at the ballot box. 1/4
— Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) January 25, 2023
“Now Trump's 2-year suspension has elapsed, the question is whether the serious risk to public safety that existed in January 2021 has receded enough to allow the suspension to expire.”
The former Liberal Democrat leader went on to say that Meta had evaluated the current situation as part of their Crisis Policy Protocol and that the risk to public safety had “sufficiently receded”.
Mr Clegg did add, however, that “new guardrails” will be installed and that the former US President “faces heightened penalties for repeat offences” when he returns.
He concluded: “We know that any decision we make on this issue will be fiercely criticised. Reasonable people will disagree over whether it is the right decision.
“But a decision had to be made, so we have tried to make it as best we can in a way that is consistent with our values and the process we established in response to the Oversight Board’s guidance.”
Mr Trump’s Twitter account was restored in November by new owner Elon Musk, though he has yet to post there.
After being removed from several social media platforms, Mr Trump went on to set up his own social media platform, Truth Social.
Ahead of his return to Facebook, Mr Trump has also announced that he will make another run for the White House in 2024.
