Meta Agrees to Pay $25 Million to Settle Trump’s Social Media Ban Lawsuit: Meta has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 federal lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations and other claims following the company suspending him from Facebook and Instagram in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Meta Agrees to Pay $25 Million to Settle Trump’s Social Media Ban Lawsuit
The payout resolves the suit Trump Filed against Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly engaging in “Impermissible censorship” by removing the president from the social media platforms. A Meta spokesman confirmed the settlement sum, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company official said about $22 million of the settlement will be directed to Trump`s presidential library.
The settlement amount was not revealed in a letter to the court written on Wednesday BY Zuckerberg’s Lawyer K. Winn Allen, who told a judge in Northern California that “Parties have reached an agreement” in the case, saying that both sides will soon ask for the suit to be dismissed. A white House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The payment represents a significant victory for Trump and another step in Zuckerberg`s Efforts to court him. It is the latest instance of a large corporation setting ligation with the president, who has threatened retribution on his critics and rivals and comes as Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have joined other technology companies in trying to ingratiate themselves with her new trump administration.
The People familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday to discuss the agreement. Two of the people said terms of the agreement include $22 million going to the nonprofit that will become Trump`s future presidential library. The Balance will go to legal fees and other litigants, they said.
Zuckerberg visited Trump in November at his private Florida club to try to mend fences with the incoming president, something other technology, business and government officials have done as well. At the dinner, Trump brought up the ligation and suggested they try to resolve it, kick-starting two months of negotiations between the parties, the people said.
Settlement Follows Zuckerberg`s moves toward the right
The settlement follows a move toward the right by Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who began an earnings call with investors on Wednesday by applauding Trump`s administration for supporting the tech industry and predicting that 2025 will be a major year for “Redefining” the company`s relationships with governments, NBC news reported.
On Jan. 10, Meta cancelled its diversity, equity and inclusion programs to align its social media company with the then-incoming administration and the so-called MAGA anti-“woke” movement
“The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some group over others,” Janelle Gale, Meta`s vice president of human resources, wrote in an employee memo first obtained vu Axios.
Trump`Lawsuit aimed at big tech
trump claimed that his First Amendment rights were violated when he filed the class-action suit against Facebook as a part of a broader swipe against social media platforms that removed him.
The Amendment, which says” Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech,” applies to government entities, not private domains, although some conservatives have been pushing to expand free speech protections to privately owned forums.
Social Media Ban Lawsuit
Facebook suspended Trump from the platform for two years and condemned Trump in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection.
“Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr Trump`s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules, “Nick Clegg, then vice president of Meta`s global affairs and communications, said at the time.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has worked aggressively to court Trump since the election. He had a prime seat for Trump`s swearing-in this month and hours later hosted a party in Trump`s honour. Meta has overhauled its content moderation policies to more closely align with the Trump administration, including allowing insults against transgender people and ending its independent fact-checking program in the United States. Trump ha has previously been criticised by Zuckerberg and Meta. After Trump won the Nov. 5 election, Zuckerberg wished Trump well and donated to his inaugural fund.