Don Facebook ban lifted
Also cleared by Instagram but faces long timeouts if naughty
Former President Donald Trump’s suspensions on Facebook and Instagram have been lifted, more than two years after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, parent company Meta confirmed Thursday.
Meta had suspended Trump from its platforms after “his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol,” the company’s global affairs president, Nick Clegg, said in a previous announcement.
Trump’s Facebook page, which has 34 million followers, and his Instagram page, which has 23.4 million followers, were both active Thursday, though the former president hasn’t posted on either account. A Meta spokesman confirmed Trump’s reinstatement to NBC News.
Meta originally suspended Trump indefinitely in January 2021, then announced a two-year ban. Thursday’s developments follow a Jan. 25 announcement that Meta planned to reinstate his accounts soon.
“Social media is rooted in the belief that open debate and the free flow of ideas are important values, especially at a time when they are under threat in many places around the world,” Clegg wrote last month. “As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms — especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States.”
Trump would face greater penalties for future violations due to his past history, Meta says.
“In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” Clegg wrote.
Twitter reinstated Trump’s account in November after billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform. Trump, who has more 87 million Twitter followers, hasn’t tweeted since.
Trump, 76, launched his own social platform, Truth Social, last year.
In November, Trump announced he’s running in the 2024 president election. Trump lost the 2020 election to President Biden after one term.