Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump. The former US President sued Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2021 after his accounts were suspended following the January 6 Capitol riots.
Trump’s Lawsuit Against Meta
In 2021, Meta banned Trump from Facebook and Instagram for at least two years.
Trump claimed the ban was unfair and politically motivated.
After Meta lifted all restrictions on his accounts in July 2024, the lawsuit moved toward settlement.
Settlement Details
$22 million will go to Trump’s presidential library.
The rest will cover legal fees and other plaintiffs in the case.
Meta did not admit any wrongdoing.
Zuckerberg and Trump’s Relationship
After Trump won the November 2024 election, Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago.
Meta later donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Zuckerberg attended Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, sitting near other tech billionaires.
Trump’s History With Social Media Bans
Trump had called Facebook “anti-Trump” since 2017.
After his 2021 ban, he labeled the platform “an enemy of the people” in March 2024.
Twitter (now X) permanently suspended Trump’s account in 2021.
After buying Twitter for $44 billion, Elon Musk reinstated Trump’s account in 2022 after a user poll.
Meta’s AI Investments and Stock Performance
Meta is investing $65 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2025.
Chinese AI app DeepSeek is rising fast, affecting US tech stocks.
Meta’s stock price increased despite the market dip.
Zuckerberg believes open-source AI is key to keeping US technology competitive globally.
