It's only January, but we may have already heard the understatement of the year.
Nick Clegg, president of global affairs for Meta Platforms (META), announced on Jan. 25 that the social media giant would soon be allowing former president Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks.
"We know that any decision we make on this issue will be fiercely criticized," Clegg said in a lengthy statement.
Trump, who is running for president again, was suspended from the two sites in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol following his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
"The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances," Clegg said. "The normal state of affairs is that the public should be able to hear from a former President of the United States, and a declared candidate for that office again, on our platforms."
Trump's last Facebook post was on that date when he said "I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"
Clegg said the company determined that the risk to public safety that existed at the time of the insurrection "has sufficiently receded."
"As such, we will be reinstating Mr. Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks," he said. "However, we are doing so with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses."
Clegg said if Trump posts more violating content, it will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation.
Twitter Reacts to Meta's Decision
"The fact is people will always say all kinds of things on the internet," he said. "We default to letting people speak, even when what they have to say is distasteful or factually wrong."
Twitter also banned Trump after Jan. 6, but Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, who bought the microblogging website for $44 billion in October, said he would allow the former president to tweet again.
Trump has been reportedly telling his inner circle that he's ready to leave behind the exclusivity clause he signed with Truth Social (DWAC) -- the social media platform his company, Trump Media & Technology Group, created.
Twitter lit up with all kinds of reaction to Trump's pending reinstatement.
"Trump incited an insurrection. And tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power," Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff tweeted. "He’s shown no remorse. No contrition. Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous. @facebook caved, giving him a platform to do more harm."
On the other side of the aisle, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted, "it’s great that President Trump will be back on Facebook soon."
"But he shouldn’t have been banned in the first place," Jordan said, "Can’t happen again."
Clegg concluded his statement by saying "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," he said.
