Meta Finally Lifts Lingering Restrictions On Trump Months Out From November

Tech giant Meta announced Friday it will be lifting former President Donald Trump’s “heightened suspension penalties” on Facebook and Instagram as the 2024 elections grow closer.

President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, released an updated statement on the company’s site, announcing the change to the protocols from January 2023, specifically for Trump’s restrictions, in order for users to “hear from political candidates.” The company stated the previous restrictions on Trump had been placed in “response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances” following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“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. As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties,” Clegg wrote.

In 2021, Facebook received backlash from President Joe Biden’s White House over its stance on posts regarding COVID-19 as the president accused the tech company for “killing people” due to their lack of censoring of so-called COVID misinformation.

Reports later revealed the White House had pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2021 to censor former Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson for stating the COVID-19 vaccines “don’t work,” according to documents released by then-Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. Facebook executives described the tension as a “knife fight” with the White House officials over the issue, according to a House Judiciary Committee report released in May.