President Donald Trump has signed an agreement in which Meta would pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit he brought against the company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, after being suspended from Facebook in 2021 following the January 6 riot. Trump signed the settlement papers Wednesday in the Oval Office, his attorney John Coale confirmed to Business Insider. He said much of the $25 million settlement paid by Meta would go toward Trump's presidential library. A Meta spokesperson also confirmed the settlement to BI. The settlement agreement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal just as Meta was due to report their quarterly earnings. Meta leaders were uncharacteristically late to the call.
Former President Donald Trump and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, have settled a lawsuit. The agreement requires Meta to pay Trump $25 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit stemmed from Meta’s decision to suspend Trump’s accounts for nearly two years. The ban followed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. On that day, Trump posted a video on social media, reiterating claims of election fraud. He also appeared to commend the rioters. Meta removed the video and initially imposed a temporary suspension. The company later extended the ban to two years, citing concerns about potential violence.
Meta on Wednesday agreed to pay $25 million to settle President Donald Trump’s 2021 lawsuit against the tech giant for suspending his accounts on its social media platforms following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, according to multiple reports. The settlement follows Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta making a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund in an apparent attempt to align the company with the president. Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, will pay $22 million to a fund for Trump’s presidential library, while the remainder will go toward covering legal expenses and compensating additional plaintiffs involved with the case, company spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed, according to NBC News.