Meta has agreed to pay US$25 million (A$40.2 million) in a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump after negotiations between Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg and Trump’s lawyer John Coale.
Trump, alongside others, claimed that their Facebook accounts were unlawfully shut down or blocked in the suit.
Under the deal reported by The Wall Street Journal, Meta will pay $22 million to a fund to support the construction of Trump’s presidential library with the other $3 million going to four people who joined Trump in the lawsuit in 2021.
Trump’s account, alongside others, was shut down in 2021 following the January 6 insurrection. Trump’s accounts were restored in 2023.
The settlement comes as Trump and Zuckerberg reconcile their differences while Trump is becoming president.
Their relationship soured after Zuckerberg banned Trump’s Facebook accounts but after Trump’s victory, the two were seen together at Trump’s Mar-a-Largo resort. In the following month, Zuckerberg donated $1 million to an inauguration fund for Trump and was even a guest at the inauguration earlier this month alongside other tech billionaires.
This is just the latest in lingering disputes between Trump and other tech leaders.
This includes a settlement where ABC agreed to pay Trump $15 million to resolve a libel suit brought over by anchor George Stephanopoulos who said on air that a jury found Trump liable for the rape of E. Jean Carroll.
Earlier this week Meta announced their Q4 earnings for 2024, where they rose above expectations and said they plan to invest more in their generative AI investments.
At the time of writing, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) stock was trading at US$687.00, down 0.54% from Thursday's close of $676.49. The stock reached a day low of $676.10 and a day high of $710.79. Tesla's market cap stands at US$1.73 trillion.
