Meta to Pay Trump $25 Million to Settle 2021 Lawsuit Over His Facebook and Instagram Ban
Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle Donald Trump’s lawsuit alleging censorship over the social media giant’s suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment.
More from Variety
A source close to Trump confirmed that Meta will pay $25 million under the terms of the settlement. According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the settlement, $22 million of Meta’s payment will go toward a fund for Trump’s presidential library. The remainder will go toward “legal fees and the other plaintiffs who signed onto the case,” per the report.
In a court filing Wednesday, a lawyer for Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was named in Trump’s lawsuit, said “the parties have reached an agreement to settle the named plaintiffs’ individual claims and resolve this matter” but didn’t include details of the settlement.
In July 2021, Trump sued Meta (then called Facebook), Twitter and Google over the internet companies’ moves to suspend his accounts on their platforms. Trump alleged the actions were “unconstitutional” and violated his First Amendment rights, but that is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the U.S. Constitution actually says. The First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting free speech and does not apply to private companies.
Meta had on Jan. 7, 2021, suspended Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for an indefinite time period, with Zuckerberg citing the potential for ongoing violence for the decision after Trump praised rioters who engaged in violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg said at the time. Subsequently, the company said Trump would be banned for a two-year period.
In January 2023, Meta said it was reinstating Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts with “new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.”
Zuckerberg has been cozying up to Trump since Trump won the 2024 presidential election. On Nov. 27, Zuckerberg traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to dine with the president-elect. Meta, at Zuckerberg’s behest, donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In addition, in early January, Meta appointed UFC CEO Dana White — a close Trump friend — to its board.
Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter (now X, owned by Elon Musk) was dismissed by a federal judge. His suit against Google was “administratively closed” in 2023 but could be reopened, the Journal noted.
— Gene Maddaus contributed to this article.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.