Meta Lifts Trump Account’s Remaining Protections

Meta said Friday that it has removed additional safeguards on former President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in preparation for the 2024 election.

“With party conventions taking place soon, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will be formally nominated soon,” Meta wrote in an update.

“In evaluating our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe the American people should be able to hear from presidential nominees on the same basis,” he continued.

Trump, who was suspended from Meta platforms following the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, had his accounts reinstated in January 2023, with increased penalties for repeat offenses.

Meta said Friday that the former president’s accounts will no longer be subject to these additional penalties, noting that they were in response to “extreme and extraordinary circumstances” and “did not have to be implemented.”

“All US presidential candidates remain subject to the same community standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence,” the social company added.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram also adjusted its general protocol for restricting accounts of public figures during civil unrest.

Meta will now periodically review whether higher suspension penalties remain appropriate in order to “ensure people can hear political candidates on our platforms,” it said.

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