USA: Meta must monitor human rights risk of lifting Trump's ban

Social media giant must guard against inflammatory content re-appearing on former president’s Facebook and Instagram accounts 

After Capitol riots, Meta determined Trump had incited ‘violent insurrection against a democratically-elected government’

‘Trump must be held to the same standards as everyone else’ - Michael Kleinman

Responding to Meta’s decision to lift bans on Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following a two-year suspension, Michael Kleinman, Amnesty International USA’s Senior Director of Technology and Human Rights, said: 

“During the Capitol riots, Donald Trump used his social media platforms to escalate violence. 

“Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, all companies have a responsibility to respect human rights. 

“Yet Facebook and Instagram’s business model incentivises the company to boost harmful and inflammatory content that fuels violence and human rights violations. 

“Meta must commit sufficient resources to ensure effective and impartial moderation in line with international human rights standards. Trump must be held to the same standards as everyone else. 

“Social media companies, including Meta, cannot allow the advocacy of hatred and incitement of discriminatory violence to flourish on their platforms.”

‘Inciting violent insurrection’

Donald Trump was banned from Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms after the US Capitol riots on 6 January 2021. The ban was imposed “indefinitely” after Trump violated Meta’s policy by using its platforms “to incite violent insurrection against a democratically-elected government”. In June 2021, Meta announced that Trump’s ban would be reassessed in January 2023.