diff --git a/synapse/api/filtering.py b/synapse/api/filtering.py
index ee20e3d6c8..3f4d6d40b7 100644
--- a/synapse/api/filtering.py
+++ b/synapse/api/filtering.py
@@ -233,8 +233,6 @@ class FilterCollection:
 
             if isinstance(profile_fields_filter, Mapping):
                 ids = profile_fields_filter.get("ids", [])
-                if ids is None:
-                    ids = []
                 self.profile_fields = set(ids)
 
     def __repr__(self) -> str: