Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over the company’s decision to suspend his accounts following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The settlement, filed in a San Francisco federal court, does not require Meta to admit wrongdoing, according to company spokesperson Andy Stone.
Of the settlement funds, $22 million will go toward Trump’s presidential library, while the remaining $3 million will cover legal fees and other plaintiffs in the case. The White House declined to comment on the settlement.
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Meta’s decision to settle the lawsuit comes amid a shift in the company’s relationship with Trump, particularly after his victory in the November 2024 election. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, once a target of Trump’s public criticism, has since moved aggressively to court the president.
Zuckerberg was notably given a prime seat at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, and just hours later, he hosted a party in Trump’s honor. Since Trump’s return to office, Meta has overhauled its content moderation policies to align more closely with his administration’s stance, including:
- Ending its independent fact-checking program in the United States.
- Relaxing content restrictions, such as allowing insults against transgender individuals.
- Promoting longtime Republican Joel Kaplan to the chief of global policy, a key role in overseeing the company’s political engagement.
These moves highlight Meta’s attempt to rebuild ties with Trump after their highly publicized fallout in 2021.
Trump has long accused Meta of bias, particularly after its decision to ban him from its platforms following the January 6 riot. In a book of photographs published in August 2024, Trump stated that Zuckerberg “will spend the rest of his life in prison” if he was ever found to have illegally influenced a U.S. election.
Despite these past tensions, Zuckerberg has softened his approach toward Trump, even donating to Trump’s inaugural fund after his recent election victory.
Meta is not the only major corporation to settle a legal dispute with Trump since his re-election. In December 2024, ABC News paid $15 million to resolve a defamation lawsuit involving anchor George Stephanopoulos, who had made controversial remarks about Trump.
The willingness of companies like Meta and ABC to settle Trump’s legal challenges signals a broader shift in corporate strategy—with firms looking to repair relations with the Trump administration as he prepares to serve a second term.
Background: Meta’s 2021 Ban on Trump
Following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, Trump was suspended from nearly all major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Zuckerberg, in a January 7, 2021, Facebook post, justified the decision by stating: “Trump’s refusal to condemn his supporters who stormed and occupied the Capitol shows that he intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.”
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts remained locked until February 2023, when Meta lifted the suspension, citing the need to allow public figures to engage with their audiences.
With Trump now back in power, Zuckerberg and other tech executives are working hard to mend their relationship with an administration that once viewed them as adversaries.
Analysts believe that the $25 million settlement means different things for each party. For Meta, it closes a politically charged lawsuit while helping mend its fractured relationship with Trump. For Trump, the settlement secures funding for his presidential library and marks another legal victory as he moves to solidify his influence over major institutions.