Former President Donald Trump’s full access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts will be restored after they were severely restricted following January 6, social media company Meta said on Friday.
Meta said that it would be rolling back restrictions in the coming weeks, mentioning the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee where Trump will be officially designated the GOP’s 2024 nominee. Multiple social media outlets targeted Trump after a riot broke out at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 as Congress voted to certify the 2020 election results.
After the riot, Trump lost all access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts, before they were eventually restored with severe restrictions. The accounts were hit with advertising limits and faced stricter penalties if they violated Meta’s policies. Meta Global Affairs President Nick Clegg said that these stipulations would be removed due the upcoming presidential election.
“With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated. 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,” Clegg said in a statement.
“As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties. In reaching this conclusion, we also considered that these penalties were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances, and have not had to be deployed,” Clegg added. “All 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.”
Meta said that it would continue to evaluate whether political expression acted against its responsibility to “to avoid serious risks to other human rights.”
Trump was also banned on Twitter, now X, before Elon Musk restored his account after he took over the company.
In response to the social media restrictions placed on him, Trump launched Truth Social, his own social media platform where he primarily posts now. Truth Social went public earlier this year and is traded under the “DJT” moniker.
