According to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday, Meta is debating moving its incorporation to Texas, a US state that is seen as hospitable to businesses run by large shareholders like Mark Zuckerberg.
The social media behemoth was first incorporated in Delaware in 2004, when it was still known as Facebook.
Elon Musk followed suit by moving Tesla and a few other businesses he owns to Texas after a Delaware judge rejected his massive compensation package, approving the annulment of Musk’s 2018 compensation agreement worth up to $55.8 billion.
The courts where corporations are incorporated usually hear shareholder lawsuits, and Texas presents itself as a welcoming environment for businesses controlled by shareholders.
Andy Stone, a spokesman for Meta, told AFP that the company had no intentions to relocate its headquarters from Silicon Valley, California, and that he was unable to verify the Journal article.
Texas has a track record of endorsing conservative politicians, including Trump.
Trump recently courted tech giants like Musk, the owner of X, and Zuckerberg, who both went to the president’s inauguration in Washington.
As Zuckerberg supports Trump, Meta has backed off on diversity and fact-checking efforts.
Zuckerberg changed Meta’s guidelines to remove limitations on certain content on its apps, which include WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Zuckerberg, who reportedly had dinner with Trump at his Florida residence in November, announced a recent reduction of fact-checking efforts and stated that Meta would be “restoring free expression on our platforms.”
This week, Meta announced that it has agreed to pay Trump $25 million to resolve a lawsuit he filed in 2021 alleging that Facebook and Instagram improperly blocked him following the US Capitol incident.