Meta announces it will reinstate Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts

The company Meta has announced this Wednesday that it will restore in the coming weeks the former president’s accounts American Donald Trump on his social media profiles Facebook and Instagram.

The American technology company has made this announcement after the Trump campaign formally requested Meta to unlock the account, after two years of prohibition as a result of the assault on the Capitol on January 6, a measure that they have indicated that “they were extreme and very unusual circumstances.”

“The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances. The normal state of affairs is that the public should be able to hear a former president of the United States, and a declared candidate for that position again, on our platforms,” ​​reads a statement from Meta.

Meta’s president of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, has indicated, after the company’s announcement, that they have evaluated the public safety risknoting that they are aware that “any decision” the company makes “will be harshly criticized.”

“As a general rule, you don’t want to get in the way of open debate on platforms, especially in the context of democratic elections. People should be able to hear what politicians are saying (good, bad and ugly) to make informed decisions at the polls,” Clegg said.

According to him company statement“Social media is founded on the belief that open debate and the free flow of ideas are important values, especially at a time when they are under threat in many parts of the world.”

However, he stresses that “like any other user (…), Trump is subject to community standards“In light of his violations, he now also faces increased penalties for recidivism, penalties that will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from civil unrest-related suspensions under our updated protocol,” the letter continues.