YouTube is restoring Trump’s account ahead of the 2024 campaign

CBS News exclusive conversation with Trump

Trump speaks one-on-one with CBS News political director about campaign visit to Iowa 04:31

WASHINGTON — YouTube on Friday lifted restrictions on former President Donald Trump’s account that have been in place since the weeks following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Trump could start uploading new content to the platform for its 2.65 million subscribers starting Friday, the company said. For the past two years, Trump has been blocked from uploading new videos for violating the platform’s policies on incitement to violence.

“We carefully assessed the ongoing risk of violence in the real world, while also weighing the opportunity for voters to hear equally from key national candidates in the run-up to an election,” YouTube said in a opinion. “This channel remains subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”

The decision means the former president’s accounts on three major social media platforms have been restored ahead of the 2024 election. Twitter and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, both suspended Trump’s accounts after Jan. 6 and have restored them in recent months.

Trump, who has tens of millions of followers on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, has not posted on the platforms since his reinstatement, preferring to post on his own social network, Truth Social.

More Caitlin Yilek

Caitlin Yilek is a political reporter at CBS News Digital. Reach her at caitlin.yilek@cbsinteractive.com. Follow her on Twitter:

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