January 30, (THEWILL) – Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit filed to challenge the suspension of his accounts.
Trump in 2021 sued Meta and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, over the social media company’s decision to suspend his accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. In July 2024, Meta lifted the final restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the lead-up to the US presidential elections.
But in a notice filed before a federal court in San Francisco, where the lawsuit was pending, Meta on Wednesday, said it would pay $25 million to settle the dispute.
Meta spokesperson, Andy Stone, who confirmed the deal, said $22 million will go to fund Trump’s presidential library and the balance dedicated to legal fees and other plaintiffs in the case.
The settlement does not require Meta to admit wrongdoing, Stone said.
Meta is at least the second major corporation to opt for financial settlement for Trump’s lawsuit since he won a second term in the November election. In December, ABC said it would pay $15 million to close out a dispute in which Trump alleged that anchor George Stephanopoulos had defamed him.
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