As Trump was reinstated, Meta’s Nick Clegg stressed ‘guardrails’ were in place. He could soon find them tested
Meta’s founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, recently described his job as a: “It’s almost like everyday you wake up and you’re punched in the stomach.” The reappearance of Trump will almost certainly result in further pressure on his solar plexus, judging by reaction overnight. Campaign groups warned it would be inflammatory, with the Anti-Defamation League saying Meta had chosen to “platform bigotry and divisiveness” and that the decision “isn’t a matter of free speech”.
But Clegg was clear that free speech was at the forefront of the decision, saying the public “should be able to hear what their politicians are saying” including asuch as Trump. This reflects Zuckerberg’s belief that Meta is a champion of “free expression”. Clegg reiterated that in his blogpost on Wednesday, using the opening sentence to state: “Social media is rooted in the belief that open debate and the free flow of ideas are important values.
The measures outlined by Clegg to limit the threat from content that veers towards “the risk of real-world harm” are largely already in place. These include a repeat offender policy that applies to public figures who have been banned but then allowed to return: if Trump posts further violating content it will be removed and he could be suspended for between one month and two years. The guidelines on restricting election falsehood and QAnon content are an update on the repeat offender policy.
That balance between free speech and real-world harm, and the strength of that repeat offender policy, will be tested when Trump comes back. Although Trump has yet to tweet following his reinstatement to Twitter, he has made clear that he wants to get back on. In a letter to Meta this month his advisers said the ban “dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse” and should be rescinded.
That argument about distorting and inhibiting the public realm, where everyone has a right to feel safe, would be of interest to Ruby Freeman. The former Georgia election worker was subjected to a “deluge of intimidation, harassment, and threats” and was forced to leave her home after
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