(FreedomBeacon.com)- Meta is getting closer and closer to making a final decision as to whether they will reinstate former President Donald Trump on the social media platform they own, Facebook.
Nick Clegg, the top policy executive at Meta — the parent company of Facebook — said he will ultimately make the final decision as to whether Trump will be allowed to return to the platform in January of 2023.
Speaking at an even in Washington sponsored by news organization Semafor, Clegg — who serves as the company’s president of global affairs — it’s “a decision I oversee and I drive” when asked whether the company would be extending Trump’s suspension beyond two years.
As he explained:
“It’s not a capricious decision. We will look at the signals related to real-world harm and make a decision whether at the two-year point — which is early January next year — whether Trump gets reinstated to the platform.”
While Clegg would have ultimate decision-making ability on the topic, he also said he would be consulting with the board of directors at Meta as well as with CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Clegg explained that his role is overseeing the implementation and enforcement of the company’s policy issues, while Zuckerberg is more focused on building out the Metaverse.
Clegg didn’t give those in attendance any indication about which way he was leaning on the Trump decision. He did say, however, that a final decision would be made by January 7 of next year.
As he explained:
“We’ll talk to the experts. We’ll talk to third parties. We will try to assess what we think the implications will be of bringing Trump back onto the platform.
“I’m very mindful that if you have this significant ability to take decisions which affect the public realm as a private sector company you need to act with great caution and reticence. You shouldn’t throw your weight about. American democracy is not our democracy, it’s your democracy.”
If Trump were indeed allowed back on Facebook, Clegg said that the former president would be suspended once again if he were to violating the policies of the platform on a consistent basis.
One thing he did point out to the crowd is that Meta wouldn’t be fact-checking any speech that a candidate or politician gave on the platform, as it’s not their role to make the determination as to what’s true or not.
As Clegg said:
“It’s not about truth and lies. Political speech is not an exercise in scientific accuracy. Politicians are there to sketch out a visual of what they want to see. They’re not there to provide statistical precision.
“We do not want to get in the way of what politicians say about each other or themselves. We are not here to interfere. That’s a sort of sacred part of the democratic process.”
While Trump won’t be back on Facebook before the midterm elections in November, he could be back in time for a presidential run of his own if he decides to do so for the 2024 election.
