The company said in June 2021 that it would “look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded” in January 2023 to make a determination about the former president’s account. The group included representatives from the company’s public policy, communications, content policy, and safety and integrity teams, and was being led by Clegg, who previously served as UK Deputy Prime Minister. Meta earlier this month was considering whether to restore Trump’s accounts with the help of a specially formed internal company working group made up of leaders from different parts of the organization, a person familiar with the deliberations told CNN. After Facebook’s independent Oversight Board recommended that the company clarify what was initially an indefinite suspension, Facebook said the former president would remain restricted from the platform until at least January 7, 2023. Many other platforms did the same in quick succession, but Facebook was clear that it planned to revisit the decision at a later date. The company made the landmark decision to bar Trump from posting on Facebook and Instagram the day after the January 6 attack, in which his supporters stormed the US Capitol in a bid to overturn the 2020 election results. They should err on the side of allowing a wide range of political speech, even when it offends.” He added: “The biggest social media companies are central actors when it comes to our collective ability to speak - and hear the speech of others - online. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the decision “a prime example of putting profits above people’s safety.”īut ACLU Director Anthony Romero called the decision “the right call,” joining several other groups in praising the move. ![]() Congressman Adam Schiff said in a tweet that restoring Trump’s “access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous,” noting that Trump has shown “no remorse” for his actions around the January 6 attack. Meta’s decision was quickly criticized by a number of online safety advocates and democratic lawmakers. Previous Trump campaigns have lauded the effectiveness of Facebook’s targeted advertising tools and have spent millions running Facebook ads. Although Twitter was always Trump’s preferred platform, he has a massive reach on Facebook and Instagram - 34 million followers and 23 million followers, respectively, ahead of his reinstatement. Twitter restored Trump’s account in November following its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, but the former president has not yet resumed tweeting, opting instead to remain on Truth Social.īut Trump’s campaign earlier this month sent a letter to Meta petitioning the company to unblock his Facebook account, a source familiar with the letter told CNN, making his return more likely. They were still in the meeting when Meta released the news, the source said. Shortly before the announcement, Meta asked for a last-minute meeting with Trump’s lawyers this evening to discuss his possible reinstatement, but were not told what the final decision was. Many of his aides and advisers learned of the decision from media reports. ![]() In a post on his own platform, Truth Social, Trump acknowledged Meta’s decision to reverse its suspension of his account and said “such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution.”įormer President Trump’s team was not given advance notice of Meta’s decision, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Trump’s reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear whether Trump will seize the opportunity to return to the Meta platforms. ![]() The decision, which comes on the heels of a similar move by Twitter, could also further shift the landscape for how a long list of smaller online platforms handle Trump’s accounts. With his Facebook and Instagram accounts reactivated, Trump will once again gain access to huge and powerful communications and fundraising platforms just as he ramps up his third bid for the White House. Inside Facebook's high-stakes debate to reinstate Trump after a two-year ban Erin Schaff/Pool/Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |