Meta Platforms Inc. today agreed to a $25 million settlement over the lawsuit President Donald Trump brought against the company in 2021 for suspending his accounts following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Meta, which under its Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg recently seems to have charmed President Trump (pictured) back into his graces, at least for now, was accused of unfairly censoring Trump. Then Facebook Inc., the company was one of the social media giants that slapped a suspension on Trump for what was considered inflammatory language that might have led to trouble in the Capitol.
At the time, Zuckerberg told the media that the peaceful transition of power “is critical to the functioning of our democracy, and we need our political leaders to lead by example and put the nation first.” There was certainly no love lost between Trump and Zuckerberg, but that all started to change as Trump made his bid to become president again in 2024.
After years of right-leaning politicians and commentators accusing Big Tech of harboring bias against conservatives and of at times engaging in unfair moderation practices, Meta recently dumped its fact-checking system and embraced X Corp.-style community comments — though they haven’t yet been implemented. This came shortly after new Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said in a letter that the company employed a “censorship cartel.”
Zuckerberg further enhanced his new relationship with Trump after the two met at Mar-a-Lago in November. Zuckerberg has since been outspoken about causes that reflect a more conservative bent, stating his company was pressured by the former government to “censor” content around the COVID-19 pandemic. Just recently the company ended its diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.
In a call with investors on Wednesday for the quarterly financial results, Zuckerberg heaped praise on the Trump administration for its support of American tech companies and what he said was “defending our values.” He added, “This is going to be a big year for redefining our relationships with governments.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit was brought up on Zuckerberg’s visit to Mar-a-Lago. Trump had reportedly said that the lawsuit had to be settled before Zuckerberg and his companies could be “brought into the tent.”
It seems Meta is now firmly in the tent.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
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