Meta to Lift Trump’s Instagram and Facebook Restrictions

The company revealed that it would remove restrictions on Trump’s social media accounts, which have been “subject to stricter penalties” such as Trump’s ability to run advertisements or have his account suspended for being in violation of the company’s policies, a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.

In January 2023, Meta revealed that it was ending its suspension of Trump’s accounts, two years after social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube either issued bans or suspensions of Trump over the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.

“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 president,” Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs for Meta said in a statement, according to the outlet.

While the company had ended its suspension of Trump’s accounts last year, “new guardrails” were put in place in order to “deter repeat offenses.”

The spokesperson told the outlet that the guardrails that were put in place were those that were meant to “limit any public figure’s accounts during civil unrest”:

While those penalties were designed to limt any pubic figure’s accounts during civil unrest, Donald Trump’s accounts were the only ones that have so far been subject to those restrictions, a spokesperson confirmed.

Trump’s Instagram and Facebook accounts also reportedly did not violate Meta’s policies “during his restriction period,” the spokesperson added.

Clegg added in his statement that the restrictions that were put in place on Trump’s social media accounts had been a “response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances.”

“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 said.

Tesla CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk restored Trump’s account in November 2022, although he has only posted once since then.

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Summary:
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta will lift restrictions on former President Donald Trump’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. These accounts were previously under stricter penalties, limiting Trump’s ability to run ads or face suspensions for policy violations. Meta had ended Trump’s suspension in January 2023, following bans from various platforms due to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, stated the decision supports political expression and allows the public to hear from presidential nominees. The restrictions were initially placed as a response to extraordinary circumstances. Trump did not violate Meta’s policies during his restriction period. Separately, Elon Musk restored Trump’s Twitter account in November 2022, though Trump has only posted once since then.