Meta Removes All Restrictions on Trump’s Account After Former President Threatens Zuckerberg with Prison

AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool

Meta announced it removed restrictions placed on former President Donald Trump’s Instagram and Facebook accounts in preparation for the November election.

According to a report from Axios , Meta released a company statement claiming it made the decision in order to provide fairness to all candidates in the presidential race.

Following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Meta and other social media companies suspended Trump from using their platforms over fears that he could incite more political violence. However, Trump’s accounts with Meta were reinstated in January 2023 but have faced strict penalties such as advertising restrictions if he violated the company’s terms of service.

A spokesperson confirmed to Axios that Meta decided to remove the restrictions on Trump’s accounts over a concern that a small policy violation could immediately result in his account being suspended. If Trump’s Meta account did violate a minor infraction they could have been suspended for a maximum of two years and stop him from reaching his followers in the final months of the race.

“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,” said Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg in a statement.

He continued, “In reaching this conclusion, we also considered that these penalties were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances, and have not had to be deployed.”

However, although the company did roll back the prior restrictions on his account, Meta will maintain the ability to limit the engagement of controversial posts involving conspiracy theories.

Following his social media ban, Trump created his own social network called Truth Social where he posts the majority of his public comments regarding the campaign.

The decision by Meta comes days after Trump vowed on Truth Social to send Mark Zuckerberg to prison if he is reelected for election fraud.

“They have no shame! All I can say is that if I’m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time,” Trump told his followers.

“We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!” he added.