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Meta to pay $25M to settle Trump lawsuit over social media ban

Meta has reached a settlement with Donald Trump over his Facebook and Instagram ban, resolving the lawsuit without accepting any liability.

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Meta the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay $25 million (£20 million) to settle a lawsuit brought by former U.S. President Donald Trump over his suspension from the platforms.  

Trump sued Meta and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2021 following the suspension of his accounts in the aftermath of the 6 January Capitol riots.  

The settlement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, includes a $22 million contribution to a fund for Trump's presidential library. The remaining amount will cover legal costs and compensate other plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit. Meta has not admitted any wrongdoing.  

Trump’s return to Meta 

Meta initially banned Trump’s accounts in 2021, stating he would be suspended for at least two years. However, in July 2024, the company lifted the final restrictions on his Facebook and Instagram accounts ahead of the U.S. presidential elections.  

Following Trump's victory in November, Zuckerberg visited the former president at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, in what was perceived as a thaw in their previously tense relationship. The following month, Meta donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. Zuckerberg was also a guest at the inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, seated near other global tech billionaires.  

Trump has long been critical of Zuckerberg and Facebook, labelling the platform 'anti-Trump' in 2017. The rift deepened after his accounts were banned, with Trump branding Facebook an "enemy of the people" in March 2024.  

Meanwhile, Twitter, now rebranded as X and owned by Trump ally Elon Musk, had also suspended Trump’s account in 2021. Musk reinstated the account in 2022 following a public poll on the platform.  

Meta’s AI investment and response to DeepSeek  

Separately on Wednesday, Meta defended its $65 billion investment in artificial intelligence (AI) after tech stocks were shaken by the rapid rise of Chinese AI app DeepSeek.  

Zuckerberg acknowledged DeepSeek’s success but said it was too early to assess its long-term impact. "If anything, the recent news has only strengthened our conviction that this is the right thing for us to be focused on," he told investors.  

Many U.S. tech stocks declined this week amid DeepSeek's surge in popularity. However, Meta’s stock rose in after-hours trading following the company's strong financial results.  

Meta reported revenue of over $48 billion for the last quarter of 2024, a 21% increase from the same period the previous year. Despite heavy investment in AI, the company posted a quarterly profit of more than $20 billion, up 49% year-on-year.  

Zuckerberg reaffirmed Meta’s commitment to open-source AI, arguing that it was essential for maintaining the U.S.'s competitive edge in the industry. "There's going to be an open-source standard globally, and I think for our own national advantage, it's important that it's an American standard," he said.  

Future plans 

Meta recently announced plans to invest up to $65 billion in AI infrastructure this year. Zuckerberg defended the expenditure, stating that large-scale investments were necessary to serve Meta’s global user base.  

"I would bet the ability to build out that kind of infrastructure is going to be a major advantage—for both the quality of the service and being able to serve the scale we want to," he said.  

Zuckerberg also emphasised 2025 as a crucial year for Meta’s smart glasses business. He reiterated his belief that smart glasses would eventually replace all traditional glasses within the next decade.  

In addition, he outlined plans to restore Facebook’s "cultural relevance," acknowledging that the platform has lost ground to competitors such as Instagram and TikTok.  

Meta recently announced the end of its fact-checking programme, opting instead for a "community notes" approach. Zuckerberg insisted the decision had not impacted advertiser demand, as the company reported strong financial results.  

 

 

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