Meta has agreed to settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump after the tech giant banned him from Facebook and Instagram following the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol.
The president was suspended from the company’s platform owing to a “risk to public safety” in 2021 and was handed the maximum penalty allowed under new rules for public figures in times of civil unrest and violence.
Trump responded by suing Meta in 2021 and later called Facebook an “enemy of the people” in March 2024.
But following his election victory in November, Mark Zuckerberg has sought to repair ties with Trump, visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort and donating $1 million to an inauguration fund.
Meta has also agreed to pay Trump $25 million to settle the lawsuit which includse $22 million towards a fund for Trump’s presidential library.
They will not admit wrongdoing as part of the deal.
On social media, ITV’s Robert Peston called the news a “jaw dropper”, saying that it came as a surprise even to him.
Meta has made significant changes to the way it does business since the start of the year, saying it will end its fact-checking program because the system was “too politically biased.”
A week later, the company dropped programmes aimed at boosting diversity within Meta, echoing Trump’s own attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“A lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally neutered,” Zuckerberg told podcaster Joe Rogan after the move. The billionaire went on to praise “masculine” corporate energy and said he felt he now had “much greater command” over Meta’s policies.
The New York Times notes Zuckerberg touted his cozy relationship with the president in a call with investors on Wednesday, saying the new administration had expressed deep support for big tech.
“This is going to be a big year for redefining our relationships with governments,” he said.
Related: Government could charge BBC licence fee for people who only use Netflix