���˿���

Meta has lifted the final restrictions on Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the run up to US presidential elections in November.

The ex-US president and convicted felon’s accounts were suspended in 2021 after he praised supporters who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January.

Trump’s accounts, which combined have over 60 million followers, were re-instated in 2023 but subject to additional monitoring, which has now been removed, the social media giant said in a blog post.

Meta said it had a responsibility to allow political expression and that Americans should be able to hear from presidential nominees on an equal basis.

It added that 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."

Since returning to Meta’s platforms, Trump’s accounts have mostly posted campaign details and memes including attacks on his presidential race rival Joe Biden.

Prior to his 2021 ban, Trump’s Facebook posts were often some of the most popular in the US, according to data at the time from CrowdTangle.

Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and was also banned from Twitter and YouTube.

Restrictions on these accounts were also lifted last year, but despite this Trump communicates now on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns, before reposting to other networks.

Trump returned to Twitter - now called X – after the company’s CEO Elon Musk held a poll that asked users to click "yes" or "no" on whether Trump's account should be reinstated. "Yes" won, apparently with 51.8% of the vote.

The big tech companies acted after the deadly Capitol Hill riots which injured more than 100 police officers. Trump was accused of inciting violence and repeatedly spreading disinformation.