July 13 (UPI) — Meta said it would remove restrictions placed on Donald Trump‘s social media accounts ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs said in a statement Friday that the decision was to give the former president an equal platform in the race against President Joe Biden.
“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,” Clegg said. “As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”
Trump’s newfound social media freedom is a boon for him as he prepares to become the official GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention, which will be held Monday through Thursday in Milwaukee.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump from his accounts in 2021 shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Meta at the time said it suspended Trump’s accounts for two years after it deemed some of his rhetoric, such as praising the Capitol rioters, could incite more violence.
The company reinstated Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in January 2023 but slapped restrictions on the accounts to “deter repeat offenses.”
“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,” Meta said at the time.
Following the lift on his account restrictions, if Trump were to violate Meta’s community standard’s again, he could only be subject to suspension for a few days.
Trump, meanwhile, has been keeping himself busy on his own social media site, Truth Social, which he launched in 2022 following his suspension from most mainstream platforms.
Elon Musk announced on Nov. 19, 2022, Trump’s Twitter account was restored. Musk has since renamed the platform as X.
And Google ended restrictions on his YouTube account on March 17, 2023.