Facebook’s parent company, Meta, will potentially allow former President Donald Trump back on its social media platforms after his actions online on Jan. 6, 2021, during the Capitol riot triggered a two-year ban, a spokesperson told CNN earlier this week.
Another source told CNN that a decision could be announced in a matter of weeks and might become the most important one in Meta’s history. The verdict will reportedly be made by a group of leaders from various parts of the company.
“His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the U.S. and around the world,” wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Jan. 7, 2021, statement about Trump’s ban.
Though Trump was initially banned “indefinitely” and “for at least the next two weeks” from both Facebook and Instagram, five months later the company officially barred him for two years — dating back to Jan. 7, according to CBS News.
Even if Trump does return to these platforms, Facebook Vice President Nick Clegg has said, “If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time… until that risk has receded.”
Clegg added that Facebook will “evaluate external factors” to determine as much, including “instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.” Whether Trump’s continued screeds on election fraud qualify remains to be seen.
“Sadly, Facebook has been doing very poorly since they took me off,” Trump wrote Thursday on his Truth Social platform. “It has lost $750 Billion in value and has become very boring. Hopefully, Facebook will be able to turn it around.”
“Maybe their first step should be to get away from the ridiculous change in name to Meta, and go back to ‘Facebook,’” he continued. “Whoever made that decision, and the decision to take me off, will go down in the Business Hall of Fame for two of the worst decisions in Business History!”
Meta’s market value had fallen from a peak of more than $1 trillion in September 2021 to $268 billion the following October, according to CBS News. Though Trump created his own social media platform last February, his possible return to Facebook has raised concern among Democrats.
Last month, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote CNN a letter urging Meta to “maintain its platform ban” on Trump in order “to credibly maintain a legitimate election integrity policy,” despite Meta being a private company.
Whether Trump’s Meta accounts will be reinstated remains to be seen. Facebook’s rules, however, have already determined that his comments will not be fact-checked if he is — should he run for office again — as elected officials and candidates aren’t subject to them.