Meta Reaches $25m Settlement With Donald Trump Over Account Ban.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay former US President Donald Trump $25 million (£20 million) as part of a legal settlement over his account suspensions. The deal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, brings an end to a lawsuit Trump filed against the company and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2021.
Trump’s accounts were suspended following the 6 January Capitol riots, with Meta initially banning him for at least two years. However, restrictions on his Facebook and Instagram accounts were lifted in July 2024, ahead of the US presidential elections.
As part of the settlement, approximately $22 million will be allocated to a fund for Trump’s presidential library, while the remaining sum will cover legal expenses and compensate other plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit. Meta, however, will not admit any wrongdoing.
The settlement follows a notable shift in Trump and Zuckerberg’s relationship. After Trump’s victory in the November 2024 election, Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort, in a move seen as an attempt to mend their previously strained ties.
In December, Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. The tech billionaire was also a guest at the president’s recent inauguration, seated alongside other leading technology executives.
Despite these developments, Trump has been a vocal critic of Zuckerberg and Facebook in the past, branding the platform “anti-Trump” in 2017. The rift widened further following his account bans, leading him to label Facebook an “enemy of the people” in 2024.
Trump’s presence on social media has been a subject of controversy beyond Facebook and Instagram. In 2021, Twitter—now rebranded as X and owned by Elon Musk—permanently suspended Trump’s account. However, Musk reinstated it in 2022 after a public poll narrowly voted in favour of his return.
Meanwhile, Meta continues to make headlines in the tech industry, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI). CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company’s $65 billion investment in AI, following the sudden rise of Chinese AI platform DeepSeek.
During a call with investors, Zuckerberg acknowledged concerns over international competition but reiterated Meta’s commitment to open-source AI development. He emphasised the importance of establishing an “American standard” in the field, positioning Meta as a leader in the global AI race.
Despite fluctuations in the tech stock market, Meta’s shares rose after the company posted better-than-expected financial results, reporting $48 billion in revenue for the last quarter of 2024—a 21% increase from the previous year. Quarterly profits also surged by 49%, reaching over $20 billion.
As the company looks ahead, Zuckerberg remains focused on innovation, including the development of smart glasses and efforts to restore Facebook’s cultural relevance in the social media landscape.
