Elon Musk‘s X has settled a lawsuit that Donald Trump brought against the platform for banning him following the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The Wall Street Journal reported that X will pay about $10 million to settle the lawsuit. A federal appellate court granted a motion earlier this week to voluntarily dismiss the case, with each side bearing their own costs.
Last month, Meta settled a similar Trump case, even after previously arguing that their decision to suspend his accounts were protected by the First Amendment. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram agreed to pay $25 million to Trump and other plaintiffs, with about $22 million going to Trump’s presidential library.
Trump sued Twitter in 2021, claiming that his First Amendment rights were violated after he was banned from the platform “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2022, but Trump and other plaintiffs appealed. The federal appellate court had yet to issue a ruling, but the sides informed the court in November, after the election, that they were in settlement talks.
After Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, he rebranded it as X and reinstated Trump’s account. After reportedly spending $250 million to help Trump return to the White House, Musk is now serving as a “special government employee,” leading the White House effort to slash the size of the federal government.
Attorneys for Trump and X did not immediately return requests for comment.
Source link
