In breaking news, Meta has announced the lifting of restrictions on former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts ahead of the Republican National Convention next week. This decision was made to ensure equal standing for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, in comparison to Democrat President Joe Biden.
According to a statement from Meta, “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.” As a result, Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to heightened suspension penalties.
Trump’s accounts on both Facebook and Instagram were reinstated in early 2023, following a two-year ban in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Meta had previously announced additional guardrails on Trump’s accounts to prevent repeat offenses.
In a blog post from Meta in January 2023, it was stated that “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.”
As of now, Meta reported that the penalties placed on Trump’s accounts have not needed to be enforced.
It is noteworthy that Trump launched his own social media site, Truth Social, in 2022, following his suspension from Facebook and Instagram, as well as from social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
