<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Donald Trump will be allowed back on to Facebook and Instagram, after Meta announced it would be ending its two-year suspension of his accounts.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The suspension will end "inthe coming weeks", the social media giant said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a statement, Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs, said the public "should be able to hear what their politicians are saying".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The then-US president was indefinitely suspended from Facebook and Instagram after the Capitol riot in 2021.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The firm had taken action following Mr Trump's "praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol", Mr Clegg said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances," he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said a review found that Mr Trump's accounts no longer represented a serious risk to public safety.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But because of Mr Trump's past "violations" he would now face heightened penalties for repeat offences.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Republicans have been pressing for Mr Trump to be allowed back on Facebook as he prepares to run for the presidency again next year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump posted on his own social media company, Truth Social, in response on Wednesday, saying that Facebook had "lost Billions" after banning "your favorite President, me".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!" he wrote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Donald Trump now has a decision to make.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Truth Social, a social media platform he set up in 2021, has vastly fewer users than Facebook. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Facebook has three billion users. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Truth Social may have as many as five million accounts - though it's likely it has far fewer active users.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Mr Trump has an exclusivity agreement with Truth Social - that means he is legally required to post first on the platform - six hours before any other platform. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It means if he posts on Facebook or Twitter -  there is a chance he could get sued. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Analysts also warn that if Mr Trump were to stop using Truth Social, or post content elsewhere, the platform would struggle to survive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He could simply ignore that exclusivity agreement - and start posting content straight away. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, that could open him up to legal problems. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What is also possible is that he simply waits until June, when the agreement times out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or, he could take the decision never to go back to platforms that he has criticised consistently. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, if he is going to have a tilt at the White House, being on Facebook - the world's biggest social media platform - would make a lot of sense. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whatever happens next, the ball is firmly in Mr Trump's court now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If he does decide to come back, though, he will have to follow Meta's rules. The company has left the door open for another suspension if he flouts them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It means Mr Tump will have to hold his tongue (to a certain extent) on Facebook, in a way that he doesn't currently have to on Truth Social. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">News of Mr Trump's re-instatement was quickly criticised by Democrats and some activist organisations who expressed concern that the former president could again use the platform to repeat false claims that he won the 2020 election.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Trump incited an insurrection," California Democratic Representative Adam Schiff wrote on Twitter. "Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, a civil rights organisation, told the Associated Press that he sees the move as a "grave mistake" that is a "a prime example of putting profits above people's safety".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's quite astonishing that one can spew hatred, fuel conspiracies, and incite a violent insurrection at our nation's Capitol building, and Mark Zuckerberg still believes that is not enough to remove someone from his platforms," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twitter had also banned the former president following the 6 January 2021 US Capitol riot, saying he had broken its rules on the glorification of violence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in November, Twitter's owner Elon Musk said Mr Trump's account ban had been lifted, after running a poll in which users narrowly backed the move.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump has not yet returned to Twitter, having earlier said: "I don't see any reason for it." BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>