The parent company of Facebook, Meta, will shortly announce if former President Donald Trump would be permitted to rejoin the social media site from which he was banned following the riots on January 6, 2021.
Nick Clegg, the company’s president of global affairs, will apparently decide whether to permit Trump to reconnect with his 35,4 million Facebook followers and 24,6 million on Instagram, another Meta subsidiary.
Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister who joined Facebook in 2018 as vice president of global affairs and communications, has seen his responsibilities at the firm expand over the past few months.
Financial Times reports that Clegg will have the last say on Trump’s reinstatement. Trump’s recent announcement of his campaign for president in 2024 could influence Meta’s decision.
According to reports, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, will determine whether or not to reinstall Trump.
According to the Financial Times, Meta had planned to announce the decision on Saturday, January 7, but that date has been moved back to later this month.
A representative for Meta told The Post, “We will announce a decision within the next several weeks in accordance with the procedure we outlined.”
Clegg has not stated in which direction he leans. In October, he told the Council on Foreign Relations, “We believe that any private corporation — despite of one’s personal feelings about Donald Trump — should proceed with extreme caution when attempting to essentially stifle political voices.”
Members of Clegg’s communications and public policy teams, as well as Monika Bickert, director of the content policy department, and Guy Rosen, head of the safety and integrity teams, will provide advice and assistance.
Mark Zuckerberg, Clegg’s boss, has essentially abandoned handling daily content moderation issues on Facebook in favor of promoting the company’s foray into the metaverse.
Meta Reportedly, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has withdrawn from day-to-day content moderation difficulties in order to devote more time and energy to his company’s entrance into the metaverse.
According to FT, a decision of this scale might lead Zuckerberg, as Meta’s CEO, chairman of the board, and dominant shareholder, to step in and assume control.
After being accused of instigating a mob to ransack the Congressional building while senators were convening to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory, Trump was banned from Facebook and its sibling network, Instagram.
The former president asserted that Biden’s victory was illegitimate and that election fraud was rampant. The courts, however, rejected these allegations.
The suspension of Trump, who was just reinstated to Twitter by new owner Elon Musk, was previously termed “indefinite”; however, management stated that they will evaluate the decision to reinstate the 45th president after two years.
After being accused of encouraging a mob of his fans to riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump was banned from popular social media platforms.
Regardless matter the outcome of Meta’s decision, it is likely to have substantial implications. If Trump is restored, Facebook and Instagram might lose a significant source of revenue if advertisers abandon the sites.
If the restriction remains in place, Meta risks upsetting the newly elected Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
After officially assuming control of Twitter, Musk was cautioned by advertising executives who represent blue-chip corporations.
Some Republicans and Democrats have threatened to come down on huge technology companies for potential antitrust infractions.
Despite being reinstated on Twitter, Trump has abstained from tweeting, instead interacting with his supporters through Truth Social, a social media network he created after being banned from mainstream outlets.