Meta prostrates itself at Trump’s feet once moreMeta prostrates itself at Trump’s feet once more

The WSJ has the scoop on this story, but got confirmation of its accuracy from Meta. Trump had initiated a lawsuit in 2021 after he was hit with a ban from Facebook and Instagram, following the riot at the US Capitol in protest at the outcome of the general election. Given Trump’s apparent influence at the time as a rabble-rouser, the initial suspension had some merit, but the decision to extend the ban for two years seemed arbitrary and draconian.  

Nonetheless, there had been little sign of movement on that lawsuit until Trump won the most recent general election. Then, suddenly, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg renounced his errant past and attempted to transform himself into a free speech absolutist. Having already disposed of the author of Trump’s ban, Zuck concluded his obsequious statement with the following: “We’re going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more.”

But Trump is not so easily placated. The WSJ’s anonymous sources (almost certainly given approval to leak by Trump himself) recount a pilgrimage Zuck made to Trump’s HQ soon after the election last November. ‘Toward the end of the November dinner, Trump raised the matter of the lawsuit, the people said,’ reads the report. ‘The president signaled that the litigation had to be resolved before Zuckerberg could be “brought into the tent,” one of the people said.’

On one level this is just power dynamics at their most crude, flagrant, and transactional. Zuck and many other previously virtue-signalling Silicon Valley barons pivoted instantly and effortlessly as soon as the prevailing winds of power shifted. If they do have any personal ethics and principles, they come a distant second to commercial pragmatism and it’s an insult to our collective intelligence whenever they pretend otherwise.

Of the claimed $25 million settlement, $22 million of it is reportedly going towards something called ‘Trump’s presidential library’. Who knew he was such a voracious reader? In fact it seems to be some kind of permanent memorial to his cult of personality – essentially an extension of his ego – and, given the apparent dimensions of that ego, $22 million will probably just scratch the surface of what Trump has in mind.

On the other hand, this does potentially set an important precedent when it comes to the rights of the users of internet platforms. Yes, they’re private companies, but they’re also near monopolies and are where most public discussions take place. The past decade has seen shocking levels of arbitrary censorship of that discussion and its participants by a few unaccountable oligarchs and that mustn’t be allowed to continue.

The new head of US comms regulator FCC has made it clear that he’s prepared to reconsider the Section 230 protections all internet platforms rely on to function if they continue their extra-legal censorship. Carr is effectively taking the baton from Trump’s previous FCC Chair in this respect and we have long argued that Section 230 protections should be conditional on censorship being restricted to adherence to national law.

The millions of other people who have been arbitrarily censored by internet platforms will, of course, be receiving no donations to their ego funds, assuming they are even unbanned by new-look Meta. So let’s call the resolution of this lawsuit what it is: performative grovelling at the feet of one of the two most powerful people in the world.

The sums involved are negligible to a company that just announced quarterly profits of over $20 billion, but it was still amusing to see this conclusion to Zuck’s otherwise forgettable comments accompanying Meta’s quarterlies. “This is also going to be a big year for redefining our relationship with governments,” he grovelled. “We now have a US administration that is proud of our leading company, prioritizes American technology winning, and that will defend our values and interests abroad. I'm optimistic about the progress and innovation that this can unlock.”

$25 million is a tiny price to pay for that but Trump doesn’t seem like the kind of bloke to toy with his prey so lightly. Further humiliations may well be in store for his new court jester, which will presumably be endured with the same obedient good humour. Meanwhile a precedent has been set for anyone else who censored or slandered Trump over the past four years. By the time this process plays out, Trump’s library will likely rival that of ancient Alexandria.