WASHINGTON -- Facebook has lifted restrictions imposed on Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, placing the former president on an equal footing on the platform with U.S. President Joe Biden just days before the Republican National Convention.
The social media giant had initially banned the former president from using its platforms in 2021 after his supporters stormed the Capitol. Meta, Facebook's parent company, lifted that ban last year but announced Trump would be subject to 鈥済uardrails鈥� such as "heightened suspension penalties鈥� if posts violated its standards.
Now, the company has removed those restrictions, reasoning that while they were put in place following the 鈥渆xtreme and extraordinary circumstances鈥� of the Capitol attack, Trump had not done anything to run afoul of them.
鈥淚n 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,鈥� Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs wrote in a statement posted to the company's website Friday.
Clegg added that both Biden and Trump are still subject to the same 鈥渃ommunity standards鈥� that apply to all other users of the company's platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook, the world鈥檚 largest social media site, had been both a publicity tool and a crucial place to tap donations from supporters for both of Trump鈥檚 previous campaigns.
These days, however, he has been posting frequently on his own Truth Social site, which he launched after Facebook and others suspended him.
