Meta announced on Friday that it will lift restrictions on former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts ahead of the Republican National Convention next week.
The decision aims to ensure that Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is on equal footing with Democratic President Joe Biden.
“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 stated. “As a result, 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 reinstated in early 2023 after a two-year ban following the January 6, 2021, insurrection. At that time, Meta imposed additional guardrails on Trump’s accounts to “deter repeat offenses.”
“In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” a Meta blog post from January 2023 explained.
On Friday, Meta confirmed that the penalties on Trump’s accounts have not been activated.
In 2022, Trump launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, following his suspension from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now known as X).
Source: CNN