Meta lifts restrictions on Trump’s social media accounts ahead of presidential polls

Meta has removed the restrictions on former president Donald Trump’s social media accounts, the tech company owned by Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday.

According to the announcement, "former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties."

This step ends measures applied after Trump’s supporters attacked the US Capitol back in 2021, AFP reported.

The 78-year-old’s appreciation on social media to his supporters over attacking the US Capitol on January 6 resulted in the suspension of his Instagram and Facebook accounts.

His accounts were reinstated in February 2023, but with a threat of penalties for future breaches — an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday.

"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 wrote in a blog post.

The company further added 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."

The Republican candidate was also banned from X and YouTube.

Nevertheless, those restrictions were already lifted last year. Trump now communicates through his own social media platform, Truth Social.