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☆ Meta begins blocking news access on its platforms in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The changes began Tuesday and will roll out gradually over the coming weeks, said Meta spokesperson Andy Stone. Google has also announced that it plans to remove news content from its platforms in Canada when the law takes effect, which could happen by December. The Canadian legislation, known as Bill C-18, was given final approval in June. Since then, the platforms have reached voluntary agreements with a range of news outlets in that country. In May, Meta also threatened to remove news content from California if the state moved ahead with a revenue-sharing bill.

Persons: Meta, —, Andy Stone, Bill C Organizations: Washington CNN, Meta, Facebook, Google, “ News Locations: Canada, Australian, California

☆ House Judiciary Committee to vote on whether to cite Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to cite Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress for what it says is a failure to provide adequate documents in connection with an earlier subpoena in the panel's online censorship investigation. If the committee votes to cite Zuckerberg in contempt, the resolution will then need to pass the House floor. A criminal contempt case, as the committee suggests, could be referred to the Justice Department, which could decide whether to take up the case. "Although directly responsive to the Committee's subpoena, Meta has failed to produce nearly all of the relevant documents internal to the company," the contempt report says. "To date, Meta has produced only documents between Meta and external entities and a small subset of relevant internal documents.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Biden, Jim Jordan, Jordan, Meta, Andy Stone, Stone Organizations: Meta, Justice Department, Apple, Microsoft, CNBC, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Ohio

☆ Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg's feud is so embarrassing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zuckerberg has been mocking Musk on Threads, and Musk responded by calling Zuckerberg a "cuck" and proposing a "dick measuring contest." Twitter responded with a poop emoji. Twitter executive chairman — and self-appointed "Chief Twit" — Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are at it again. As Insider reported, Musk has replied to tweets with the word "concerning" at least 26 times. Insider reached out to Musk, Twitter, Tesla, Meta's press office, and a spokesperson at Meta.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Musk, Twitter, —, — Elon Musk, Wendy's, emoji, Dana White, White, Alex Spiro, Meta, Andy Stone, Semafor, — that's, Tesla Organizations: Twitter, Morning, Zuckerberg, SpaceX, The New York Times, TMZ, Italy's Ministry of Culture, Times, Meta Locations: Las Vegas

In a letter sent on Wednesday, Twitter alleged that Meta used its trade secrets to develop its new social media platform, Threads, and demanded that it stop using the information. Twitter said that Meta had hired dozens of former Twitter employees, many of whom "improperly retained" devices and documents from the company, and said Meta "deliberately" assigned them to work on Threads. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a Threads post on Thursday that no one on the site's engineering team is a former Twitter employee. Legal experts said that while many companies have accused competitors that hired former employees and have a similar product of stealing trade secrets, the cases are difficult to prove. One element courts look at is whether a company made clear to employees that the specific information at issue was a trade secret.

Persons: Meta, Twitter, Andy Stone, Polk Wagner, Wagner, Elon Musk, Sharon Sandeen, Sandeen, Uber, Jody Godoy, Noeleen Walder, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Twitter, University of Pennsylvania, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Companies, Uber Technologies, Thomson Locations: St, Paul , Minnesota, Alphabet's, New York

☆ Elon Musk fired most of Twitter's staff and said their talents will be of 'great use elsewhere.' Twitter's now threatening to sue Meta, accusing the company of hiring former employees to create a 'cop
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta launched a text-based app called Threads that competes with platforms like Twitter. The letter accuses Meta of hiring "dozens" of ex-Twitter employees and using them to create Threads. Less than 24 hours since Meta launched Threads, Musk's attorney Alex Spiro sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accusing the company of hiring "dozens of former Twitter employees" to create a "copycat" app. Since the Tesla founder took over Twitter, Musk said in a BBC interview that he had laid off about 80%, or 6,500 Twitter employees, whittling the company down to fewer than 600 engineers. Meta employees have seen the chaos at Twitter as an opportunity to create a rival app for months, The New York Times previously reported.

Persons: Meta, Elon Musk's, Elon Musk, Musk, Alex Spiro, Mark Zuckerberg, Andy Stone, — that's, Spiro, Zuckerberg Organizations: Twitter, Meta, New York Times

☆ Meta's Twitter rival Threads explodes to 50 million sign-ups one day after launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this photo illustration, the Threads logo by META is displayed on a smartphone with Twitter logo in the background. Meta's new Twitter competitor Threads has exploded in growth in its first full day since its public debut Wednesday night, fueled by Instagram's already massive userbase. The booming growth is helped along by the fact that Threads is tied to an existing social network, Meta's Instagram. "No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee," Meta's communications director, Andy Stone, wrote on Threads in response to the letter. WATCH: Meta's Threads is not Twitter killer, but will pose real threat to Twitter's growth: Analyst

Persons: Jasmine Enberg, Elon Musk, Alex Spiro, Andy Stone, That's, aren't, Enberg, It's, Axios Organizations: Meta, Insider Intelligence, Twitter, Facebook, Republican, White Locations: Europe, Instagram

☆ Musk and Zuck promised us a cage fight, but what we've got are 2 reply guys trading petty jabs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg remain at each others' throats following the launch of Threads. The squabble has ramped up a notch after Twitter threatened to take Meta to court over Threads. It's getting a bit pitiful for Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as their feud continues to escalate, following the launch of Threads. In Musk's case, Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino should bring a level-headedness that her colleague is clearly lacking. These include hashtags, a "following" feed, and a messaging function, which means Threads is still a skeletal project.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, haven't, Musk, Alex Spiro, Zuckerberg –, Meta, Andy Stone, Sheel Mohnot, Zuckerberg, Zuck, who's, He's, Alex Heath, Linda Yaccarino, Adam Mosseri, Mosseri Organizations: Meta, Twitter, UFC Locations: San Francisco

[1/2] Meta's Threads app and Twitter logos are seen in this illustration taken July 4, 2023. Meta, which launched Threads on Wednesday and has logged more than 30 million sign ups, looks to take on Elon Musk's Twitter by leveraging Instagram's billions of users. Spiro, in his letter, accused Meta of hiring former Twitter employees who "had and continue to have access to Twitter's trade secrets and other highly confidential information," News website Semafor first reported. "Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights, and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information," Spiro wrote in the letter. "No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that's just not a thing," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a Threads post.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, Meta, Spiro, Semafor, — that's, Andy Stone, Musk, Mark Lemley, Jeanne Fromer, Akash Sriram, Tiyashi Datta, Jody Godoy, Katie Paul, Shailesh Kuber, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Meta, Facebook, Elon, Reuters, Stanford, New York University, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, New York

☆ Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads, Semafor reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Meta, which launched Threads on Wednesday and has logged more than 30 million sign ups, looks to take on Elon Musk's Twitter by taking advantage of Instagram's billions of users. "Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights, and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information," Spiro wrote in the letter. "No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that's just not a thing," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a Threads post. A former senior Twitter employee told Reuters they were not aware of any former staffers working on Threads, nor any senior personnel who landed at Meta at all. loadingSince Musk's takeover of the social media platform, Twitter has seen competition from Mastodon and Bluesky among others.

Persons: Semafor, Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, Meta, Spiro, — that's, Andy Stone, Musk, Akash Sriram, Tiyashi Datta, Katie Paul, Shailesh Organizations: Twitter, Meta, Facebook, Elon, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, New York

☆ Twitter threatens to sue Meta after rival app Threads gains traction
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Twitter is threatening Meta with a lawsuit after the blockbuster launch of Meta’s new Twitter rival, Threads — in perhaps the clearest sign yet that Twitter views the app as a competitive threat. On Wednesday, an attorney representing Twitter sent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a letter that accused the company of trade secret theft through the hiring of former Twitter employees. “No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing,” he said on Threads. Unlike some Twitter rivals, Threads has experienced rapid growth, with Zuckerberg reporting 30 million user sign-ups in the app’s first day. As of Thursday afternoon, Threads was the number-one free app on the iOS App Store.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, Elon Musk, Meta, Musk, Meta “, ” Spiro, ”, Andy Stone, “, — that’s, Jack Dorsey, Zuckerberg, Carl Tobias, ” Tobias Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Semafor, University of Richmond, Meta

☆ Twitter accuses Meta of stealing trade secrets for its new Threads app
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter's lawyer wrote a letter to Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday, accusing the company of "systematic" and "unlawful misappropriation" of trade secrets following the launch of its Threads service. The letter from longtime Elon Musk attorney Alex Spiro alleged that Meta's new Twitter clone was built by former Twitter employees "deliberately assigned" to develop a "copycat" app. Spiro offered no concrete examples of Twitter employees using trade secrets to build the app, which notched millions of users within hours of its launch. "No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee," Andy Stone, Meta communications director, posted on Threads. Spiro said Meta is "expressly prohibited" from crawling or scraping Twitter's follower data, without providing evidence that Meta has engaged in that activity.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Twitter's, Alex Spiro, Semafor, Spiro, —, Andy Stone, That's, Musk, Meta, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter, Viva Technology, Porte de Locations: Paris, France

☆ Instagram lifts ban on anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after launch of presidential bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Instagram announced Sunday it had lifted its ban on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist who has launched a presidential bid, two years after it shut down Kennedy’s account for breaking its rules related to Covid-19. “As he is now an active candidate for president of the United States, we have restored access to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s, Instagram account,” Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Instagram’s parent company Meta said in a statement. Kennedy, who has a long history of spreading vaccine misinformation, was banned from Instagram in February 2021. A company spokesperson at the time said Instagram had removed his account for “repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines.”While Kennedy’s Instagram account was banned, his Facebook account remained active. Kennedy was a leading anti-vaccination voice during the Covid-19 pandemic, using his social media platforms to sow doubt and misinformation about the shots.

Persons: New York CNN — Instagram, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Jr, Andy Stone, Meta, Instagram, “, Cheryl Hines, Kennedy’s, Anne Frank, Hines, ”, Jack Dorsey, tweeting, “ Robert F, ” Dorsey, Elon Musk, Stone Organizations: New, New York CNN, Instagram, Meta, The Washington Post, YouTube, Trump, DeSantis, Democratic, CNN Locations: New York, United States, Nazi Germany, Silicon Valley

☆ Instagram reinstates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. amid presidential bid launch - WaPo
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 4 (Reuters) - Meta Platform's (META.O) Instagram on Sunday lifted its suspension against the account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy, The Washington Post reported. "As he is now an active candidate for president of the United States, we have restored access to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s Instagram account," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement, according to the newspaper. On Thursday, Kennedy in a series of tweets said that Instagram had still not reinstated his account and that "to silence a major political candidate is profoundly undemocratic." loadingIn 2019, Kennedy's relatives, including Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Maeve Kennedy McKean - wrote a Politico op-ed, criticizing his previous statements on vaccines as "misinformation." In September 2021, Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube also banned channels associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other prominent anti-vaccine activists Joseph Mercola.

Persons: Instagram, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, John F, Kennedy, Biden, Jr, Andy Stone, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P, Kennedy II, Maeve Kennedy McKean, Joseph Mercola, Meta, Yana Gaur, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Sunday, The Washington Post, Democratic, YouTube, Thomson Locations: COVID, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Meta says it will block news on Facebook in California if recently advanced bill becomes law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

California lawmakers advanced a bipartisan bill Thursday that would require Big Tech platforms to pay publishers for news they host, just a day after Meta threatened to remove news from Facebook and Instagram should the bill pass. The California Journalism Preservation Act, which passed out of the state Assembly 46-6, still needs to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Democratic Gov. The California bill has similar aims to federal legislation that a bipartisan group of lawmakers attempted to advance last year. The current conflict between Meta and California lawmakers recalls a similar fight in Australia in 2021, when the government there sought to require online platforms to pay for news content. WATCH: Australia slams Facebook's move to block news amid new media bill

Persons: Meta, Gavin Newsom, Andy Stone, Adam Kovacevich, Danielle Coffey, Facebook's Organizations: Big Tech, Facebook, California Journalism, Democratic Gov, Twitter, Media Alliance, Tech, Journalism, CNBC, YouTube Locations: California, Meta, Australia

☆ Meta threatens to yank news content from California over payments bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 31 (Reuters) - Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Wednesday it would remove news content in its home state of California if the state government passed legislation forcing tech companies to pay publishers. The proposed California Journalism Preservation Act would require "online platforms" to pay a "journalism usage fee" to news providers whose work appears on their services, aimed at reversing a decline in the local news sector. The statement was Meta's first on the California bill specifically, although the company has been waging similar battles over compensation for news publishers at the federal level and in countries outside the United States. In December, Stone said Meta would remove news from its platform altogether if the U.S. Congress passed a bill that closely resembles the proposed California legislation. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment about the California bill.

Persons: Andy Stone, Stone, Katie Paul, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: YORK, California Journalism, U.S, Congress, Google, Facebook, Thomson Locations: California, United States, Canada, Australia

☆ Meta threatens to pull news content in California if bill to pay publishers passes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, threatened to remove news from its social media sites in California if the state passes a bill requiring big tech companies to pay news outlets for their content. The bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, requires digital companies such as Google and Facebook to pay local news publishers a “journalism usage fee” whenever their news content is used or posted on those platforms. The bill also requires news publishers to invest 70% of usage fee profits into journalism jobs. “This threat from Meta is a scare tactic that they’ve tried to deploy, unsuccessfully, in every country that’s attempted this,” Wicks said in a statement. The bill has garnered praise from some of the largest journalism unions in California, including Media Guild of the West and Pacific Media Workers Guild.

Persons: Andy Stone, ”, ” Stone, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, ” Wicks, “, Wicks Organizations: CNN, Meta, Facebook, Twitter, Oakland, Google, California State, Media Guild, West and Pacific Media Workers Guild, Free Press Locations: California

☆ Antitrust enforcement can help the U.S. stay ahead of China on tech, FTC Chair Khan says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Antitrust enforcement, rather than the absence of it, can better position the U.S. to stay ahead of China in the race to build cutting-edge technologies, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Wednesday. The tech industry often points to the threat of China catching up to U.S. technologies as an argument against more aggressive enforcement against them. Khan said Wednesday that lessons of the past suggest more aggressive enforcement at home will actually benefit the U.S. on the international stage. Khan offered an example of two historic tech antitrust cases in the last century, those of IBM and AT&T . "I think we saw that Silicon Valley was birthed in the wake of strong competition and antitrust enforcement," Khan added.

☆ FTC says Meta should be barred from monetizing data from younger users
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC said Meta should be banned from monetizing data it collects from younger users. In a statement on Wednesday, Meta spokesman Andy Stone called the FTC proposal “a political stunt” and vowed to contest the effort. Meta had allowed personal information to leak to apps that users of the platform were no longer using, the FTC alleged. That data sharing, the FTC claimed, contrasted with Meta’s public statements about how it cuts off a third-party app’s access to Facebook users’ information if the users stop using the third-party app for 90 days. In a statement, Bedoya said he was skeptical whether there was enough of a connection between Meta’s alleged harms and the proposed remedies to legally sustain a complete ban on monetizing the data of young users.

☆ 'One of a kind': Australians pay tribute to 'icon' Barry Humphries
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Australia's Barry Humphries poses after receiving his Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from the Queen at Buckingham Palace, London October 10, 2007. REUTERS/Steve Parsons/Pool/File PhotoSYDNEY, April 23 (Reuters) - Australians have paid tribute to Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage, as both a "one-of-a-kind" entertainer and a charming and intelligent man. The Sydney Morning Herald said Humphries died on Saturday at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, where he had been treated for various health issues. Another Sydneysider, Lucy Bloom, said it felt like the character of Dame Edna would never come to an end. "Barry Humphries entertained us through a galaxy of personas, from Dame Edna to Sandy Stone.

☆ Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage who blossomed from an Australian suburban housewife into a self-described gigastar, died on Saturday. The Sydney Morning Herald said Humphries died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, where he had been treated for various health issues. It was the character of Dame Edna who made Humphries famous. "Edna has this way of doing things, it seems to take the curse off it," Humphries told Reuters in 1998. That changed in 2000, when he was 66, and his "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour" on Broadway earned him a Tony award and role in the sitcom "Ally McBeal".

☆ Barry Humphries, Australian comedian best known for alter-ego Dame Edna Everage, dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Australian comedian Barry Humphries, best known for his drag character Dame Edna Everage, has died aged 89. Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1934, Humphries created the character of housewife Edna Everage in 1955 as a social satire. Before Edna made it big, Humphries appeared in numerous West End productions including “Oliver” and “Maggie Way” in the 1960s. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Humphries landed a series of TV talk shows, specials and films, as Dame Edna and his other alter-egos Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, among them The Dame Edna Experience in 1987. As well as performing on television, Humphries was a prolific author Marianna Massey/WireImage/Getty ImagesIn 2000, Humphries won a Special Tony Award for his Broadway show “Dame Edna, The Royal Tour”, officially breaking into the US market.

☆ Australian comedian Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Australian television talk show host Dame Edna (L) appears as a guest on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" as talk show host Jay Leno laughs at one of Dame Edna's humorous comments. Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage who blossomed from an Australian suburban housewife into a self-described gigastar, died on Saturday. The Sydney Morning Herald said Humphries died at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, where he had been treated for various health issues. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Humphries in a tweet, calling him a "great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind". It was the character of Dame Edna who made Humphries famous.

☆ Dame Edna Everage creator Barry Humphries dies aged 89 in Sydney
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Australian comedian Barry Humphries died aged 89 after suffering complications from hip surgery. Humphries was best known for his outrageous character Dame Edna Everage. Australian PM Anthony Albanese said he was "a great wit, satirist, writer and an absolute one-of-kind." The Australian actor and comedian was best known for his Melbourne housewife character, Dame Edna Everage, which he debuted in 1955. Dame Edna was well known for appearing on as well as hosting television chat shows, often reducing other guests to tears of laughter.

☆ Meta plans to cut thousands of jobs as soon as this week - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo(Reuters) -Meta Platforms Inc will cut thousands of jobs as soon as this week in a fresh round of layoffs, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, only a few months after the Facebook-parent reduced more than 11,000 people from its workforce. Meta declined to comment on the Bloomberg report when contacted by Reuters. Last month, the Washington Post newspaper had reported that Meta was planning to cut jobs in a reorganization and downsizing effort. Other tech companies, including Google-parent Alphabet Inc and Microsoft Corp, have also cut thousands of jobs.

☆ Meta restores Donald Trump's access to Facebook, Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) has restored former U.S. President Donald Trump's access to Facebook and Instagram, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed on Thursday, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Meta in January said it would lift Trump's suspension "in the coming weeks" and would institute heightened penalties of a suspension between one month and two years if the former president violated its content policies again. Trump now regains access to key platforms for voter outreach and political fundraising ahead of another run for the White House in 2024. He had 23 million followers on Instagram and 34 million on Facebook as of January. Reporting by Rami Ayyub, Kanishka Singh and Sheila Dang; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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