Meta to reinstate Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts

File picture

Meta Platforms said on Wednesday it will reinstate former US President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021.

The restoration of his accounts could provide a boost to Trump, who announced in November he will make another run for the White House in 2024. He has 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram, platforms that are key vehicles for political outreach and fundraising.

His Twitter account was restored in November by new owner Elon Musk, though Trump has yet to post there.

Free speech advocates say it is appropriate for the public to have access to messaging from political candidates, but critics of Meta have accused the company of lax moderating policies.

Meta said in a blog post Wednesday it has "put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses".

"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," wrote Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs, in the blog post.

The decision, while widely expected, drew sharp rebukes from civil rights advocates. "Facebook has policies but they under-enforce them," said Laura Murphy, an attorney who led a two-year-long audit of Facebook concluding in 2020. "I worry about Facebook's capacity to understand the real world harm that Trump poses: Facebook has been too slow to act."

The Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Free Press and other groups also expressed concern Wednesday over Facebook's ability to prevent any future attacks on the democratic process, with Trump still repeating his false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Others said it was the right decision.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and a former ACLU official, defended the reinstatement. He had previously endorsed the company's decision to suspend Trump's account.

"The public has an interest in hearing directly from candidates for political office," said Jaffer. "It's better if the major social media platforms err on the side of leaving speech up, even if the speech is offensive or false, so that it can be addressed by other users and other institutions."

More from Business

  • UAE announces VAT exemptions under amended law

    The Ministry of Finance announced the UAE Cabinet approved amendments to a Federal Decree-Law on Value Added Tax (VAT), which is set to exempt investment fund management services from VAT to stimulate growth in the investment management sector and increase the UAE’s attractiveness as a leading investment hub.

  • Brazil's top court says X paid pending fines to wrong bank

    Brazil's Supreme Court said on Friday that lawyers representing social media platform X did not pay pending fines to the proper bank, postponing its decision on whether to allow the tech firm to resume services in Brazil.

  • Abu Dhabi Investment Office announces animal feed markets tender

    Companies are being invited by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to submit proposals to operate UAE animal feed markets.

  • OpenAI value climbs to $157bn in funding deal

    OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has raised $6.6 billion (AED 24.4 billion) from investors, which could value the company at $157 billion (AED 576 billion) and cement its position as one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

  • India, US sign pact to cooperate on battery mineral supply chains

    Indian Trade Minister, Piyush Goyal, and US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, signed an agreement to cooperate on strengthening supply chains in the two countries for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy applications.