This photo illustration shows the Facebook page of former President Donald Trump on a smartphone screen in Los Angeles in 2023.
Chris Delmas/AFP/Getty Images/TNS
NEW YORK — Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. removed a set of restrictions from former President Donald Trump’s accounts, saying it wants to ensure candidates are given equal access to political expression ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended for two years after a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. When Meta reinstated him to its network in February 2023, the company also said Trump faced “heightened penalties for repeat offenses,” meaning he could be “suspended for between one month and two years” for any subsequent rules violation. The change announced Friday means that the threat of a harsher penalty has now been removed.
“We believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for president on the same basis,” Meta wrote in an updated blog post Friday. “As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.” Trump will still be held to Meta’s rules.
Trump is expected to be named the Republican presidential nominee at the party’s convention next week. The removal of the restrictions was reported earlier by Axios.
