Mehta announced Friday that it had removed additional guardrails from former President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts ahead of the 2024 election.
“With party conventions coming up soon, including the Republican Convention next week, the US presidential candidate will likely be formally nominated soon,” Mehta said in an update.
“In assessing the responsibility for permitting political expression, we believe the American people should be able to hear candidates for president with the same standards,” he continued.
President Trump’s account was suspended by Meta Platform following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but he had his account reinstated in January 2023 with increased penalties for repeat offenses.
Mehta said Friday that the former president’s account will no longer be subject to these additional penalties, noting that they were in response to “extreme and extraordinary circumstances” and “there was no need to apply them.”
“All US presidential candidates must follow the same community standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including policies to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence,” the social company added.
The parent companies of Facebook and Instagram have also adjusted their general protocols for restricting public figures’ accounts during civil unrest.
Mehta said it would regularly review whether increased suspensions were appropriate “to ensure people can listen to political candidates on our platform.”
