Meta removes “guardrails” from Trump’s accounts before the RNC

Almost four years After Meta suspended Donald Trump from its services – and 18 months after lifting the ban while adhering to certain “guardrails” – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram announced Friday that it had lifted all remaining restrictions on the former president’s accounts ahead of the Republican National Convention.

“With party conventions coming up, including the Republican National Convention next week, the United States presidential candidates will soon be officially nominated. Given our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe the American people should be able to hear from the presidential candidates on the same basis,” Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, wrote Friday in an update to the company’s January 2023 post lifting Trump’s suspension. “This will no longer subject former President Trump to the enhanced suspension penalties as the nominee of the Republican Party.”

Trump was initially banned from Facebook and Instagram “after praising the people who committed acts of violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” which posed “a serious threat to public safety,” Meta wrote. The ban lasted until January 2023, when the punishment was lifted but new guardrails were put in place “to prevent repeat offenses.”

Since the ban was lifted 18 months ago, Trump’s team has posted frequently on Facebook – often just reposts from Trump’s own Truth Social – within the community standards set by Meta. But on Friday, all remaining Meta-set deterrents were removed.

“In reaching this conclusion, we also took into account that these penalties were in response to extreme and exceptional circumstances and did not need to be imposed,” Clegg added. “All U.S. presidential candidates will continue to be subject to the same community standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including policies to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.”