Meta to ease limits on Trump's Facebook, Instagram accounts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Meta (META) said on Friday it was rolling back some restrictions that had applied to former U.S. President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The social media company indefinitely suspended Trump's accounts following his praise of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The company then reinstated his accounts in early 2023, saying it would monitor Trump's posts for further violations that could result in another suspension of between one month and two years.

Trump, who is running against U.S. President Joe Biden, will no longer be subject to the additional monitoring, Meta said.

"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," Meta said in an updated blog post.

Some social media experts have long criticized Meta and other platforms for failing to moderate political content, including from political candidates.

Trump was also banned from Twitter, now called X, in 2021. Billionaire Elon Musk restored the account shortly after acquiring the company in 2022, though Trump has only posted once since then.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Austin; additional reporting by Jasper Ward and Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Rod Nickel)