Meta announced on Friday, 12 July 2024, that it was removing restrictions on US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump‘s Facebook and Instagram accounts, bringing an end to prohibitions put in place after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in 2021. It reported that “former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”

On January 6, 2021, a day after his followers invaded the US Capitol, Trump’s social media accounts were disabled indefinitely after it was discovered that he had supported violent people on social media. Trump’s social media accounts were reopened in February 2023, but there were penalties for future breaches, which Meta lifted on Friday, 12 July 2024.

“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 in a blog post.

It went on to say that 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.”

Trump, the first former President to be convicted of a crime, was also barred from Twitter and YouTube. While these restrictions were later loosened last year, Trump now mostly communicates through his own social media platform, Truth Social.

His 34 million-strong Facebook page features Truth Social messages, rally invitations, and campaign videos

AFP

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