President Biden’s reelection campaign rallied against Meta Friday for lifting the restrictions on former President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram.
In a statement first provided to The Hill, the campaign called the move “greedy” and “reckless,” arguing that it is an attack on democracy to include the former president on the popular platforms.
“Restoring his access is like handing your car keys to someone you know will drive your car into a crowd and off a cliff,” Charles Lutvak, the Biden campaign’s national spokesperson, said. “It is holding a megaphone for a bonafide racist who will shout his hate and white supremacy from the rooftops and try to take it mainstream. Without question, it is a direct attack on our safety and our democracy.”
“This greedy, reckless decision will allow Trump and his MAGA allies to reach more Americans with their fundamentally undemocratic, un-American misinformation,” he added.
Meta said Friday that it has removed additional guardrails on Trump accounts in the run-up to the 2024 election after he was suspended from its platforms following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and then had his accounts reinstated in early 2023 with heightened penalties for repeat offenses.
“Donald Trump relied on these social media platforms to send a violent mob to the Capitol on January 6, where they tried to overturn an election, he lost fair and square,” Lutvak said. “The lies he spread on this platform stoked the mob that assaulted police officers. Five people died.”
Meta also announced that Trump’s accounts will no longer be subject to the additional penalties and it adjusted its general protocol for restricting accounts of public figures during civil unrest.