Meta to lift restrictions on Trump's accounts

Facebook owner Meta announced Friday that it would remove restrictions placed on former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts ahead of the Republican National Convention next week.

The company said the decision was made to ensure that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, would have equal standing with Democrat 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,” a statement from Meta said. “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 accounts on both Facebook and Instagram were reinstated in early 2023, following a two-year ban in the wake of the January 6, 2021, insurrection. At the time, Meta said it would place 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 blog post from Meta in January 2023 said.

On Friday, Meta said the penalties placed on Trump’s accounts have not had to be deployed.

Trump launched his own social media site, Truth Social, in 2022, in the wake of his suspension from Facebook and Instagram, along with social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.