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Video-streaming platform YouTube said on Friday it lifted restrictions on former US president Donald Trump’s channel, following a more than two-year suspension after the January 6th Capitol Hill riot in 2021.
Trump now has access to key vehicles for political fundraising and the ability to reach his combined 146 million followers across three major tech platforms as he makes another run for the presidency in 2024.
Twitter and Facebook have already lifted bans imposed in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. Trump returned to Facebook on Friday afternoon with a brief video clip for his 2024 presidential run with “I’M BACK” as the caption. He has not returned to Twitter, preferring his own platform, Truth Social.
“We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election,” YouTube said in a tweet, referring to the move.
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[ This ‘should never again happen’: Donald Trump responds to Facebook overturning his ban ]
Meta Platforms Inc had reinstated Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts earlier this year, while his Twitter account was restored in November by new owner Elon Musk.
Trump's campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The video-streaming platform banned Trump in 2021 for violating its policy of inciting violence after his supporters stormed the US Capitol when Congress began to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
Trump is regaining access to social media accounts that he used throughout his 2016 campaign and presidency to lash out at rivals and build his base of followers just as the Manhattan District Attorney's office is considering criminal charges, which Trump and his allies are arguing without evidence are politically motivated.
Opponents of Trump’s return point to his messages on Truth Social as evidence that he still poses the same risk that led various social media platforms to suspend him before. – Agencies