Statement on News that Meta is Considering Replatforming Trump

For Immediate Release
September 22, 2022
Contact: press@accountabletech.org

Meta could reinstate the former president’s accounts as early as January 7, 2023, two years after he used the platform to incite a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol

Today, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, confirmed that the company is actively weighing the possibility of lifting its ban on Trump’s accounts. Clegg’s comments come despite the fact that Trump’s current behavior – including baseless accusations of election fraud, amplification of hate groups, and direct appeals to extremists – clearly violate the standards Facebook set for allowing him back on the platform.

As Meta considers re-platforming Trump, Accountable Tech has released a new memo outlining the escalating dangers of reinstating Trump on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.

READ THE MEMO

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill also released the following statement:

“As Mark Zuckerberg said in 2021, Donald Trump used Facebook ‘to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.’ But Meta’s indication that he will be allowed back on the platform – despite his increasingly dangerous behavior since – would be equivalent to handing a flamethrower to an arsonist.

Nick Clegg and Mark Zuckerberg continue to pay lip service to their fundamental responsibility to protect their users from harm, but their actions run counter to the standard they proclaim to uphold. Will they once again find themselves apologizing for deaths they helped cause? Or will they finally put public safety over profit and keep their word?”

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