Meta removes ‘civil unrest’ restrictions on Trump accounts dating to Jan. 6 fallout
Social media giant Meta has removed special restrictions on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former President Donald Trump put in place in the aftermath of the Jan.
Social media giant Meta has removed special restrictions on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former President Donald Trump put in place in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The company said in a statement Friday that it was doing so because the "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding the attack and its aftermath had passed, and because it wanted to put Trump and President Joe Biden on equal footing before the Nov. 5 election.
The restrictions were designed to keep Trump on a tighter leash than other Facebook and Instagram users, subjecting him to "heightened" penalties if he had violated any rules.
Facebook and Instagram locked Trump's accounts soon after the Capitol attack, and Trump remained suspended from those platforms until February 2023. Before the company reinstated his accounts, it announced the new restrictions as a guard against further potential "civil unrest."
But the company said the situation was now different with Trump set to be officially named as the Republican nominee for president at next week’s party convention in Milwaukee.
Rating: 5