reinstated former US President Donald Trump earlier this month, social media giant Meta will take a decision on whether to revoke his suspension in early 2023, Nick Clegg, president, global affairs of Meta told ET in an exclusive interview.
“Twitter, at that time, removed him permanently. We didn’t do that. We said that he would be suspended for two years. That two-year period comes to an end early next year,” said Clegg, who is on a week long India visit.
The former deputy prime minister of UK added that Meta will make a decision based on its observations about the level of risk to public safety and so on in the United States.
“If he is restored to our platform at that time, we will have to think about what caveats and conditions and guardrails would be applied to him.” He added that it is “unhealthy” for private companies to be permanently sanctioning politicians in major democracies.
“We believe in voice but we also believe in safety. It’s getting that balance right,” Clegg said.
He went on to add that the two year period comes to an end early next year and hence, Meta will likely make further announcements in the early part of next year.
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Donald Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated in November under the social media company’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk. This makes it the first digital platform to reinstate the former US President’s account.
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put out a poll on Twitter asking users whether Trump should be reinstated and on November 20, Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.” The Latin phrase means “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
The Twitter owner had previously said he would not make any “major content decisions or account reinstatements” before convening a “content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.”
Twitter was among the first platforms to ban Trump after his supporters breached the US. Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying his tweets broke its rules against glorifying violence.
Soon after, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitch and other internet companies also suspended the politician who later went on to launch his own social media platform called Truth Social.
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