Meta has announced the reinstatement of former US president Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
This decision follows a comprehensive review process of political candidates’ accounts, initially instituted in January 2023, to assess the appropriateness of ongoing suspensions for community standards violations.
Meta stated the importance of allowing American users to hear directly from presidential nominees and safeguarding political expression.
This move coincides with the upcoming Republican convention and reflects Meta’s assessment that the extraordinary circumstances justifying the original suspension no longer exist.
Trump’s accounts were initially suspended indefinitely by Meta following his remarks supporting individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol violence.
The Oversight Board upheld the suspension but criticized its indefinite nature, leading Meta to impose a defined two-year suspension starting from Jan. 7, 2021.
In response, Meta developed a crisis policy protocol to guide its actions during periods of civil unrest.
Following the completion of the two-year suspension, Meta evaluated the current environment, including the 2022 midterm elections and expert security assessments.
Concluding that the risk had diminished, Meta decided to lift the suspension with new safeguards in place to prevent future violations.
Under the revised protocol, Trump and other reinstated public figures will face stricter penalties for repeat offenses. Content that violates community standards will be removed, and suspensions will range from one month to two years, depending on the severity of the violation.
Additionally, Meta will limit the distribution of non-violating content that poses a risk of inciting harm, preventing it from appearing in users’ feeds or being reshared.
Since being suspended by Facebook and other platforms, former president Trump has been active on his own social media platform, Truth Social, which he launched in 2021.
