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Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg visited Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort – months after the president-elect threatened him with jail time.
In August, Trump wrote in a book that the tech billionaire would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he tried to interfere in the 2024 US election.
But Trump later softened his stance, saying in a podcast in October that it was “good” for Mr Zuckerberg to “stay out of the election”, and thanking him for a personal phone call after facing an assassination attempt.
“Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the new administration,” a Meta spokesperson told the BBC.
“This is an important time for the future of American innovation,” the statement added.
Relations between the two men were not always so cordial, but they gradually improved.
Trump was kicked off the Meta Facebook and Instagram platforms in 2021 for what the company called his “praise of those engaged in the violence at the Capitol on January 6.”
This suspension was lifted two years later.
In August this year, Mr Zuckerberg expressed regret over removing promotion of content related to allegations about Joe Biden's son Hunter, which had been a right-wing talking point in the United States before the 2020 presidential election.
He also said he would no longer make contributions to support election infrastructure, after a donation of $400 million (£302 million) in 2020 was seen by some online as a way to circumvent the donation limits.
Mr. Zuckerberg said his donations were designed to be nonpartisan and that his goal was to be neutral in elections.
Great friends of technology
It's unclear what the two men discussed during a dinner at Trump's Florida home.
Meta has, however, faced increasing regulation in recent years, including an ongoing antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020.
Even so, Mr. Zuckerberg's seemingly improved relationship with the president-elect has been totally overshadowed by Trump's proximity to another tech titan: Elon Musk.
Trump's close relationship with the X owner has resulted in more than $100 million (£79 million) in campaign donations, as well as support from the billionaire and his superfans.
Their relationship is so close that some have nicknamed Musk her “First Boyfriend”, a play on the president's wife being named First Lady.
This ultimately led to the billionaire being put in charge of a new Department of Government Effectiveness (Doge), which could give him influence not only over government policy, but also over the very regulations that threaten his empire commercial.
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Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk together at SpaceX satellite launch in November
