Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump after his accounts were suspended following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Under the terms of the agreement, $22 million will be directed to a nonprofit organization that will become Trump’s future presidential library, while the remaining funds will cover legal fees and other costs. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the settlement.
The lawsuit, filed by Trump, accused Meta of "illegal, shameful censorship of the American people." Trump argued that his suspension violated free speech principles, though Meta cited its community standards and Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which grants social media platforms immunity from liability for user-generated content and allows them to moderate their services in “good faith.”
The settlement follows a private meeting in November between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Trump at the president’s Florida club, where they discussed resolving the litigation. As part of its outreach efforts, Meta also made a $1 million donation to Trump's inaugural committee, and Zuckerberg was present at Trump’s recent swearing-in ceremony.
This settlement comes on the heels of a similar deal between Trump and ABC News, where the network agreed to pay $15 million towards Trump's presidential library to resolve a defamation lawsuit involving inaccurate statements made by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Trump has been litigious in claiming unfair treatment by media outlets, with ongoing lawsuits against CBS News and The Des Moines Register alleging biased reporting and poll inaccuracies.
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