Meta Consents to Pay $25 Million to End Donald Trump’s Account Suspension Lawsuit

Meta has settled a lawsuit regarding suspension after the January 6 Capitol attack by agreeing to pay Trump $25 million.

In a lawsuit brought by former President Donald Trump, Meta Platforms agreed to pay about $25 million to resolve the suspension of his accounts after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Allegations that the corporation illegally suppressed conservative opinions have been settled.

Targeting Meta, Twitter (now X), and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, along with their executives, Trump launched the lawsuit in July 2021.

According to the lawsuit, these corporations suppressed his speech, especially following the Capitol attack, which was stoked by his continual fabrications on election fraud.

With the remaining cash going toward legal bills and other plaintiffs in the case, the settlement will contribute $22 million to a fund for Trump’s presidential library. In a federal court in San Francisco, Meta filed a notice on the arrangement.

After a November dinner between Trump and Mark Zuckerberg at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, the case—which had been on hold since the fall of 2023—began to move again.

The encounter was interpreted by the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story first, as an attempt by Zuckerberg’s business to patch things up with the former president, who has frequently chastised Meta’s political content regulations and even threatened to imprison Zuckerberg.

A significant change from its prior position was also made in December when Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.

This action came after more significant changes inside the organization, such as the end of its US fact-checking efforts and diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Meta also eased limitations on contentious issues like gender identity and immigration.