Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram bans to be lifted, Meta says

Words by ITV News Multimedia Producer James Gray

Meta has said it will remove the bans given to Donald Trump's official Facebook and Instagram accounts in the "coming weeks".

The decision from Meta, which owns both of the social media giants, comes more than two years after the former US president was banned for a "severe violation" of the company's rules.

Former Liberal Democrat leader and Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said Mr Trump's accounts will be reinstated with "new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses".

He said: "Like any other Facebook or Instagram user, Mr Trump is subject to our Community Standards.

"In light of his violations, he now also faces heightened penalties for repeat offenses - penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol."

Mr Clegg said that if Mr Trump posts any content which breaches Meta's guidelines then it will be removed and, depending on the severity of the offence, he will be banned once more for between one month and two years.

"Democracy is messy and people should be able to make their voices heard. We believe it is both necessary and possible to draw a line between content that is harmful and should be removed, and content that, however distasteful or inaccurate, is part of the rough and tumble of life in a free society," he added.

In June 2021, Mr Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts were banned after he praised supporters of his who stormed the US Capitol.

Mr Trump was also removed from Twitter, though he was recently reinstated after Elon Musk took over the company. Since returning to the platform, Mr Trump has not tweeted.

Instead, he has been relying on Truth Social, a network which he launched after being blocked from Twitter.

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