Meta: Donald Trump will not face heightened Facebook suspension penalties before conventions

Former US President Donald Trump will not be subjected to “the heightened suspension penalties” on Facebook and Instagram ahead of the party conventions taking place shortly, Meta has said. The company noted that people should be able to hear what politicians are saying so they can make informed choices.

The “nominee of the Republican Party” was subjected to action in 2021, shortly after the January 6 unrest in Washington, DC. At that time, Meta suspended Trump’s accounts for two years, citing that his actions, including praising the Capitol rioters, posed a potential risk for inciting further violence.

In January 2023, Meta announced it would reinstate Trump on its platform, and he regained access to his accounts the following month. However, Trump remained subject to penalties and restrictions that could result in long suspensions of his social media accounts.

Speaking on the decision, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, stated, “Today we are making a change to the updated protocol we announced in January 2023. To ensure people can hear from political candidates on our platforms, we will review accounts subject to this protocol on a periodic basis to determine whether heightened suspension penalties for Community Standards violations remain appropriate. We will make this determination by weighing our responsibility, as outlined by the Oversight Board, to ‘allow political expression’ against our responsibility ‘to avoid serious risks to other human rights.’”

With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated. In assessing their responsibility to allow political expression, Meta believes that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis. As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties. In reaching this conclusion, they also considered that these penalties were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances and have not had to be deployed. All US Presidential candidates remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.

Notably, if Trump were to violate the company’s community guidelines now, he would face a much shorter suspension, lasting only a few days, compared to the lengthier suspensions under the previous penalties.

This decision comes as a significant development as the political landscape gears up for the upcoming conventions and presidential race.