Meta formalizes two-year suspension of Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts
On June 4, 2021, Meta announced that former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts would be suspended for two years from January 7, 2021 — formalizing the previously indefinite ban imposed after the January 6 Capitol attack. The decision followed a May 2021 ruling by Meta's Oversight Board criticizing the indefinite suspension as 'standardless.' Trump's accounts were restored in February 2023 with new guardrails. Trump characterized the suspension as political censorship; Meta said his January 6–7 posts violated policies against incitement to violence.
Dates: Initial indefinite suspension January 7, 2021; Oversight Board decision May 5, 2021; two-year suspension formalized June 4, 2021; reinstatement announced January 25, 2023; restoration completed February 2023. Parties: Donald Trump; Meta (Facebook, Instagram); Meta Oversight Board. What happened: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a two-year suspension running through January 7, 2023, with reassessment based on public-safety conditions and a graduated penalty framework for future violations. The Oversight Board had upheld the underlying content removal but ordered Meta to issue a clear, time-bound penalty. Meta's stated reasons: January 6–7 posts that the company assessed as inciting violent insurrection. Trump's response: Characterized the suspension as politically motivated censorship of a sitting U.S. president. Outcome: Accounts restored February 2023 with stated guardrails. Trump had launched Truth Social in 2021 and his X account had been restored by Elon Musk in November 2022 by the time of Meta's reinstatement.