Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been restored after he was banned in the wake of the deadly Capitol riot two years ago.
Users of the social media sites can again see the former US president’s pages, with the last post on his Facebook made on 6 January 2021, when he wrote: “I am asking for everyone at the US Capitol to remain peaceful.”
On that day, an insurrection erupted in Washington DC during which hundreds of his supporters stormed the US legislature.
Mr Trump was suspended from the platforms on 7 January 2021 following the riot.
The then-president was also banned from Twitter.
Mr Trump has been using his own, much smaller site, Truth Social, since his ban.
The latest development comes after Meta announced it would reinstate the 76-year-old’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following a two-year suspension.
The tech firm said in a blog post in January that it would be adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules.
“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,” said Meta, which is based in Menlo Park, California.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said Mr Trump was free to use Facebook and Instagram again “if he wishes to”, adding that the “guardrails” were in place to “ensure he plays by the rules”.
Mr Clegg, the former deputy British prime minister, added: “We’re trying to strike a balance between keeping people safe on our platform, making sure that our services are not used to threaten real would harm, but at the same time we think the American people should hear from those who want to lead them, and we don’t want to stand in the way of that.”
Responding to Meta’s decision in January, the former US president wrote on Truth Social: “FACEBOOK, which has lost billions of dollars in value since ‘deplatforming’ your favourite president, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account.
“Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting president, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!”
Read more:
Donald Trump allowed back on Facebook and Instagram after ban
Donald Trump’s Twitter account back after poll
Mr Trump’s Twitter account was restored in November last year after Elon Musk’s $44bn (£38bn) takeover of the site.
Mr Musk called the ban on Mr Trump’s account a “mistake” and “morally wrong”.
The Tesla founder launched a poll on the site, accompanied by the words “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” – a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God” – which asked users to vote on whether Mr Trump should be allowed to return.
After more than 15 million votes, the result was that he should and his account was reinstated.
However, Mr Trump, who has more than 80 million followers, has not yet used the account and has previously said: “I don’t see any reason for it (returning).”