Meta agreed to pay President Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit he filed after the company suspended his Facebook and Instagram accounts following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
The move was a significant concession by a major tech company and a victory for Mr. Trump, who had previously criticized social media platforms for censoring him but has lately wooed tech titans including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive.
Mr. Zuckerberg has thrown his support behind Mr. Trump and has been remaking his company for the new administration. This month, Mr. Zuckerberg made sweeping policy changes to allow for more types of speech across Meta’s apps — which include Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp — and eliminated diversity and inclusion initiatives across the company. In some cases, the changes have proved contentious to his work force.
In December, ABC News also agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Mr. Trump. ABC News agreed to donate the money to Mr. Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum. The network and its star anchor, George Stephanopoulos, also published a statement saying they “regret” remarks that were made about Mr. Trump during a televised interview in March.
Meta declined to comment. The settlement was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal.
On Wednesday, Meta also reported a 21 percent jump in revenue and a 49 percent increase in profit for the fourth quarter, driven largely by advancements in its systems for advertisement targeting and suggesting relevant posts and videos to users. The improvements came from its continued investments in artificial intelligence, the company said.
Revenue was $48.4 billion, up from $40.1 billion a year earlier and above Wall Street estimates of $47 billion, according to data compiled by FactSet, a market analysis firm. Profit was $20.8 billion, up from $14 billion a year earlier.
“We continue to make good progress on A.I., glasses, and the future of social media,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in a statement. “I’m excited to see these efforts scale further in 2025.”
This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.
