Trump allowed back on Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook parent Meta said on Wednesday that it will restore former US president Donald Trump's personal account in the coming weeks, ending a two-year suspension it imposed in the wake of the Jan 6 insurrection in 2021.

The company said in a blog post it is adding "new guardrails" to ensure there are no "repeat offenders" who violate its rules, even if they are political candidates or world leaders.

"The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box," wrote Nick Clegg, Meta's vice-president of global affairs.

Going forward, the Republican leader- who has already declared himself a 2024 presidential candidate — could be suspended for up to two years for each violation of platform policies, Clegg said.

He added that when there is a "clear risk" to real-world harm, Meta will intervene.

Meta said Trump's accounts will be restored "in the coming weeks" on both Facebook and Instagram. Banned from mainstream social media, Trump has been relying on Truth Social, which he launched after being blocked from Twitter.

It was not clear when or if Trump will return to the platforms, and his representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the 76-year-old tycoon reacted in typically bullish fashion, crowing that Facebook had lost "billions of dollars in value" in his absence.

Crucial source

Facebook is not only the world's largest social media site but had been a crucial source of fundraising revenue for Trump's campaigns, which spent millions of dollars on the company's ads in 2016 and 2020. The move, which comes as Trump is ramping up his third run for the White House, will not only allow Trump to communicate directly with his 34 million followers — dramatically more than the 4.8 million who currently follow him on Truth Social — but will also allow him to resume direct fundraising. During the suspension, his supporters were able to raise money for him, but couldn't run ads directly from him or in his voice.

American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero said Meta was making "the right call" by allowing Trump back onto the social network.

"Like it or not, president Trump is one of the country's leading political figures and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech," Romero said in a release.

Advocacy groups such as Media Matters for America, however, vehemently oppose allowing Trump to exploit Facebook's social networking reach.

"Make no mistake- by allowing Donald Trump back on its platforms, Meta is refueling Trump's misinformation and extremism engine," said Media Matters president Angelo Carusone.

"This not only will have an impact on Instagram and Facebook users, but it also presents intensified threats to civil society and an existential threat to United States democracy as a whole."

Trump's Twitter account, which has 88 million followers, was also blocked after the riot, leaving him to communicate through Truth Social, with its much lower reach.

His victory in 2016 was credited in part to his leverage of social media and his enormous digital reach.

New Twitter owner Elon Musk reinstated Trump's account in November, days after the brash billionaire announced a fresh White House run. He has yet to post.

Agencies - Xinhua