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Meta ends restrictions on Trump’s Facebook, Instagram accounts ahead of GOP convention
Restrictions that were placed on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former President Donald Trump 17 months ago are being lifted, the platforms’ parent company Meta announced Friday.
In a blog post Friday afternoon, Meta said that the decision was made to remove the restrictions ahead of the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee. Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“The American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis,” Nick Clegg, Meta president of global affairs, wrote. “As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”
In an email to CBS News, Meta spokesperson Nkechi Nneji said that the company was “simply bringing presumptive GOP nominee Trump to parity with President Biden.”
In the days immediately after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, Trump’s accounts were suspended indefinitely when the company determined that his posts had potentially fueled and encouraged the violence that took place that day. In June 2021, Meta, which at the time went by the name Facebook, issued Trump a two-year suspension on the accounts dating back to that January.
His accounts were reactivated in February 2023, but with the caveat that Meta would issue “heightened penalties for repeat offenses.”
On Friday, Meta lifted the threat of those penalties.
“In reaching this conclusion, we also considered that these penalties were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances, and have not had to be deployed,” Clegg said Friday. “All U.S. 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.”
Trump has a combined 59 million followers on Facebook and Instagram. Trump’s X account, then known as Twitter, was also suspended in January 2021. It was reinstated in November 2022 by new owner Elon Musk after he posted a poll asking users whether to do so.
— Musadiq Bidar and Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report.
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.
