Meta is preparing to announce whether Trump will be allowed to return to Facebook and Instagram, report says

• Meta will decide whether to reinstate Donald Trump's accounts on its platforms this month.
• Facebook and Instagram suspended his accounts in January 2021 for inciting his supporters to storm the US Capitol.

Meta is set to announce if former President Donald Trump will be allowed to return to Facebook and Instagram, according to the Financial Times.

The social media giant will decide later this month whether Trump will have his ban lifted from its platforms, a source with knowledge of the matter told the UK publication.

Facebook suspended Trump in January 2021 after its moderation team ruled that he had used his account to incite violence when some of his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

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It upheld that ban in June 2021, with a team led by the then-vice president for global affairs and communications, Nick Clegg, ruling that Trump's "actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available."

Former UK deputy prime minister Clegg will likely decide whether Trump's ban should be lifted, sources told the FT.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had previously made the final call on content moderation before pivoting to focus on the metaverse when Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021.

Clegg then took on an expanded role when he was promoted to be Meta's president of global affairs in February last year.

Meta's potentially divisive ruling will come as Trump ramps up his 2024 election campaign after he announced he would run for a second non-consecutive term as president in November 2022.

It had previously pledged to announce whether Trump's suspension would be lifted on January 7, 2023, but is now likely to delay that decision to later in the month, the FT reported.

Twitter's new owner and chief executive Elon Musk unbanned Trump in November, citing the will of "the people" – but the former president is yet to return to the platform.

The former president has instead carried on posting on Truth Social, the right-wing social media platform he founded in October 2021 after Meta and Twitter upheld their suspensions.

Meta did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.