META, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by United States President Donald Trump over the suspension of his accounts following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
According to a report by BBC, the settlement, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, marks a significant development in Trump’s long-standing battle with major social media platforms.
The ICIR reported that Trump sued Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2021, arguing that the suspension of his accounts amounted to censorship.
Trump said in the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Miami that social media companies and their chief executive officers (CSOs) violated the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
He prayed the court to end the alleged censorship, noting that if they could ban a president, “they can do it to anyone.”
The company initially imposed a two-year ban on Trump’s accounts, before later reinstating them in the build-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The account was reinstated in July 2024.
According to reports, $22 million of the settlement funds will go toward Trump’s presidential library, while the remaining amount will cover legal fees and compensation for other plaintiffs involved in the case.
However, Meta has not admitted to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The lawsuit’s resolution comes amid signs of improved relations between Trump and Zuckerberg.
In November 2024, following Trump’s election victory, Zuckerberg visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, a move widely interpreted as an effort to mend relations.
In December, Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Earlier this month, Zuckerberg was seen among several tech industry billionaires at Trump’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol, alongside figures like Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter).
The ICIR reported that X had also permanently suspended Trump’s account after the Capitol riot, citing the risk of further incitement.
However, after Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, he reinstated Trump’s account following a public poll on the platform.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M