Meta has agreed to pay former US President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit he filed in 2021, claiming he was unlawfully censored by Facebook and Instagram following the Capitol riot.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the settlement, describing it as a major legal victory for Trump against the tech giant and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
According to sources familiar with the agreement, $22 million of the settlement will fund Trump’s presidential library project, while the remaining amount will cover legal fees and payments to other plaintiffs in the case.
Despite the settlement, Meta has not admitted to any wrongdoing in suspending Trump's accounts. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the agreement to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Trump has frequently criticised social media platforms for banning his accounts in the wake of the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Zuckerberg, who had previously announced his support for Trump, has since adjusted Meta’s policies to relax content restrictions across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.
Reports suggest that Zuckerberg dined with Trump in Florida in November, after which Meta also decided to scrap fact-checking measures and restore what it called “freedom of expression” on its platforms.
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