Meta restores Donald Trump's access to Facebook, Instagram after 2-year suspension

Meta Platforms Inc has restored former U.S. President Donald Trump’s access to Facebook and Instagram, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed on Thursday, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021.

Meta restores Donald Trump’s Facebook, and Instagram accounts

As per the company, now that he has completed the time period of the suspension i.e. 2 years, Meta is reinstating his accounts. The company has now reviewed Trump’s case and has reached the conclusion that he no longer poses a serious risk to public safety.

For the unversed, Trump’s accounts on Instagram and Facebook were suspended indefinitely in 2021 “following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021”.

Nick Klegg, President, Global Affairs, Meta, said in a statement, “Like any other Facebook or Instagram user, Mr. Trump is subject to our Community Standards. In light of his violations, he now also faces heightened penalties for repeat offenses — penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol.”

Meta in January said it would lift Trump’s suspension “in the coming weeks” and would institute heightened penalties of a suspension between one month and two years if the former president violated its content policies again.

Klegg in the blogpost also revealed that the platform might restrict the distribution of Trump’s posts based on the situation. “In the event that Mr. Trump posts content that violates the letter of the Community Standards but, under our newsworthy content policy, we assess there is a public interest in knowing that Mr. Trump made the statement that outweighs any potential harm, we may similarly opt to restrict the distribution of such posts but leave them visible on Mr. Trump’s account.”

Trump now regains access to key platforms for voter outreach and political fundraising ahead of another run for the White House in 2024. He had 23 million followers on Instagram and 34 million on Facebook as of January.

–With inputs from Reuters