Meta agrees to pay Trump $25m for suspending accounts over Capitol riots
Guardian6 days
Meta Settles Trump Lawsuit for $25M
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Above: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (C) at the inauguration of US Pres. Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025. Image copyright: Shawn Thew/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
Meta Platforms on Wednesday announced it has agreed to pay $25M to settle a lawsuit filed by US Pres. Donald Trump over the suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the US Capitol.
As part of the agreement, $22M will be allocated for Trump's presidential library, while the remainder will cover legal fees and go to other plaintiffs.
Settlement negotiations gained momentum after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November following Trump's election victory. Trump allegedly said that the litigation needed resolution before Zuckerberg could be "brought into the tent."
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
This settlement is a win for Trump, as it shows he can fulfil his promise of reining in Big Tech's overreach and ending the companies' censorship of conservative voices. As it turns out, Meta's settlement and its changed policies are a boon for it as well — evidenced by its recently announced increase of revenue.
Anti-Trump narrative
Meta's settlement and changes to its policies — in addition to settlements by other media entities — are concerning corporate capitulations to political pressure in the face of bullying by Trump. This compromises platform integrity and independent content moderation for business interests and is undemocratic.
