Meta announced on Friday that it was lifting restrictions on US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending measures imposed after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in 2021.
The company stated that “former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to heightened suspension penalties.”
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were indefinitely suspended a day after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, due to his comments that were seen as praising violence on social media.
In February 2023, his accounts were reinstated with the caveat of penalties for future violations—an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday.
“In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should hear from presidential nominees on equal terms,” Meta wrote in a blog post.
Meta emphasized that US presidential candidates “are still subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including policies against hate speech and incitement to violence.”
Trump, the first former president to face criminal conviction, had also been banned from Twitter and YouTube.
Although those bans were lifted last year, Trump now primarily communicates through his own social media platform, Truth Social.
His Facebook profile, boasting 34 million users, features content originally posted on Truth Social, along with event invitations and campaign videos.
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