Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay former U.S. President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit over his social media ban. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, accused Meta of violating Trump’s rights by suspending his accounts after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This settlement marks a major legal and political moment, further shaping the ongoing battle over free speech and social media regulations.
In the wake of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, Meta suspended Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, citing violations of its policies against inciting violence. Trump responded by filing a lawsuit against Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, accusing them of unfairly censoring him. His legal team argued that Meta acted under government pressure, making the ban a violation of his First Amendment rights.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed that the company has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve the lawsuit. According to reports, $22 million of this amount will be directed to Trump’s presidential library. The agreement was announced in a court letter from Zuckerberg’s lawyer, K. Winn Allen, stating that both parties would soon request the lawsuit’s dismissal.
This deal is seen as a significant win for Trump and a strategic move by Zuckerberg. Over the years, Zuckerberg has faced criticism from Trump and his supporters for Meta’s content moderation policies. Recently, however, he has taken steps that appear to align more with conservative interests, including ending Meta’s fact-checking program and promoting Republican lobbyist Joel Kaplan to a key role.
Despite this settlement, Trump and Zuckerberg have had a history of tension. Before taking office, Trump criticized Zuckerberg for donating over $400 million to support local election offices during the COVID-19 pandemic. In one of his books, Trump even suggested that he would jail Zuckerberg if he had the chance.
Meta’s legal team has long argued that the lawsuit was baseless. They maintained that as a private company, Meta is not bound by the First Amendment, which applies to government censorship, not corporate decisions. They also emphasized that Trump’s suspension was due to policy violations, not political pressure.
This is the second major settlement Trump has received in recent months. In December, ABC News paid him $15 million to settle a lawsuit related to its coverage of E. Jean Carroll, a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse.
This settlement raises important questions about the power of social media companies, their role in moderating political speech, and how they navigate relationships with influential figures like Trump. While the lawsuit has been resolved, the broader debate over social media censorship, free speech, and political influence is far from over.
