X Settles Lawsuit with Trump Over Account Suspension for 10 Million USD
X has settled a lawsuit with President Trump for approximately 10 million USD over the 2021 suspension of his account. The agreement was made after discussions with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
X has agreed to pay in the range of 10 million USD to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump over the 2021 suspension of his account on the social media platform, according to a person briefed on the matter.
The company, then known as Twitter, removed Mr. Trump from its platform after the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, citing his inflammatory posts and arguing they could lead to more violence. Mr. Trump sued, claiming Twitter and other tech firms that removed his accounts had wrongfully censored him.
Elon Musk, now X's owner and a close adviser to the president, reinstated Mr. Trump's account shortly after acquiring the company in 2022. Mr. Musk has thrown his support behind Mr. Trump, donating more than 250 million USD to his campaign, and is now running a government cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency.
The settlement further cements the relationship between Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump. Details of the agreement were not made public in court filings, but X and Mr. Trump notified the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that they had agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. Both parties agreed to pay their own costs, according to a court filing.
The settlement amount was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal. A spokesman for X did not respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear what entity would receive the money.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, settled a similar lawsuit last month, agreeing to pay the president 25 million USD. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, has also courted Mr. Trump in recent months, donating to his inauguration fund and making sweeping changes to Meta's policies to allow for more types of speech across the company's apps.
In December, ABC News agreed to pay 15 million USD to settle a defamation lawsuit by Mr. Trump. ABC News said it would donate the money to Mr. Trump's future presidential foundation and museum.
Meta agreed to similar terms in its settlement with Mr. Trump. About 22 million USD will finance Mr. Trump's presidential library, with the remaining 3 million USD set aside to for Mr. Trump's legal fees and other plaintiffs who joined the lawsuit.
