Meta announced on Friday that it is lifting restrictions on US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending the measures implemented following the violent storming of the US Capitol by his supporters in 2021.
Meta stated that “former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended indefinitely a day after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, following the determination that he had praised individuals engaged in violence on social media.
His accounts were reinstated in February 2023 but with a threat of penalties for future breaches — an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday.
“In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis,” Meta wrote in a blog post.
It added that US presidential candidates “remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.”
Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, was also banned from Twitter and YouTube.
While those restrictions were lifted last year, Trump now primarily communicates through his own social media platform, Truth Social.
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