As the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches, Meta has announced that it is lifting all previous penalties and limits from former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Trump’s accounts were suspended indefinitely by the social media business run by Mark Zuckerberg after the president praised individuals who participated in the fatal January 6, 2021, takeover of the US Capitol.
Additionally, he had disseminated erroneous information regarding the election results on multiple occasions, perpetuating the myth that there had been vote fraud.
According to the company, the choice was taken to guarantee that Donald Trump, the presumed Republican presidential contender, will be treated equally with Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“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,” a statement from Meta said.
“As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”
The social media giant revealed in the post that Trump’s accounts, which together have over 60 million followers, were re-instated in 2023 but were subject to extra surveillance.
This monitoring has since been lifted.
Trump would be subject to a significantly shorter suspension that might only last a few days in the wake of Meta’s most recent announcement, as opposed to a longer suspension under the previously imposed sanctions, should he breach the company’s community guidelines.
In a blog post published on Friday, Nick Clegg, president of worldwide affairs at Meta, stated that the first suspension and fines “were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances, and have not had to be deployed.”
We earlier reported that TikTok, which has been under criticism from Washington for its supposed links to China, has pulled off a significant coup with the arrival of Donald Trump on the app.
