Meta has agreed to pay former President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit he filed in 2021, accusing the company of violating his First Amendment rights after suspending him from Facebook and Instagram following the January 6 Capitol riot. The settlement resolves Trump’s claims that Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg engaged in “impermissible censorship” by banning him from their platforms.
Trump had argued that Meta acted under government pressure, making the suspension a violation of his constitutional rights. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the settlement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, adding that about $22 million of the payout will go toward Trump’s presidential library.
While the settlement amount was not disclosed in a court filing on January 29, Zuckerberg’s attorney, K. Winn Allen, informed a federal judge in Northern California that both sides had reached an agreement and would soon seek to dismiss the case. The payout marks a significant win for Trump and highlights Zuckerberg’s changing stance toward the former president.
Zuckerberg previously donated $1 million to Trump’s 2017 inauguration and recently made moves that appear to align Meta more closely with Trump’s camp. Earlier this month, Meta ended its fact-checking program, long criticized by Trump’s supporters, and promoted Republican lobbyist Joel Kaplan to head its global affairs division.
Additionally, Trump ally Dana White was appointed to Meta’s board of directors. Despite these moves, Trump has remained critical of Zuckerberg. In a book published before his presidency, Trump condemned Zuckerberg’s $400 million donation in 2020 to support local election offices during the COVID-19 pandemic, even suggesting he would imprison the Meta CEO for “the rest of his life.”
Until recently, Meta had been aggressively defending itself against Trump’s lawsuit. The company argued that, as a private entity, it was not bound by the First Amendment, which applies only to government censorship. Trump’s legal team contended that Meta acted under political pressure, making it an extension of government action.
However, Meta’s attorneys dismissed the claim, insisting Trump was banned for violating platform policies on inciting violence, not because of political influence. This is the second major legal settlement in Trump’s favor in recent months. In December, ABC News paid Trump $15 million to settle a lawsuit over its coverage of E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual abuse.
