Former President Donald Trump's official Facebook page was restored after a two-year suspension.
Trump's Facebook page and Instagram were suspended in response to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 2021.
"I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!" reads the final post from the former President's Facebook page prior to his suspension.
In January, Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, expressed their intent to reinstate Trump's accounts "in the coming weeks" with "new guardrails."
"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," wrote Meta's president of Global Affairs Nick Clegg in the January blog post.
Clegg also noted Trump would be suspended between one month and two years should he post "further violating content" regarding the company's updated policy.
Meta will consider "severity" of violations and "public figure's history on Facebook or Instagram including current and past violations" under the updated "civil unrest" policy.
The company will also weigh the public figure's "potential influence over, and relationship to, the individuals engaged in violence," along with the "severity of the violence and any related physical harm" to determine if a violation has occurred.
"At the end of the restriction period, we’ll look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded," the policy continues. "We’ll evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of global or civil unrest. If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we’ll extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded."
Along with Trump's Facebook and Instagram suspension, the former President was previously serving a permanent ban from Twitter in response to the Capitol riot. The former President's Twitter account was reinstated on Nov. 19 following a poll conducted by Elon Musk, who acquired the platform in October.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted. “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” which translates to “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Just under 52% of over 15 million users voted in favor of restoring the former President's account.
In October 2021, the former President founded rival social media platform Truth Social in response to his suspension from multiple social media outlets. Trump has remained active on the platform since its inception.
Following the 2022 midterm election, the former President announced his campaign seeking a second Presidential term in 2024. Trump has since released a series of videos proposing policies for his third Presidential bid for office highlighting culture war issues including a proposed banning of medical gender transitions for minors, creating a digital Bill of Rights, and combatting open borders policies among other issues.
Although Trump has not posted to his reinstated Twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts, the former President is speculated to utilize the platforms during his 2024 campaign.
