YouTube has agreed to pay a hefty $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account following the January 2021 Capitol riots. The deal makes Google the last of the three big tech giants to settle lawsuits from Trump, who accused them of illegally silencing conservative voices.
Under the terms of the settlement, the majority of the money—$22 million—will be paid on Trump’s behalf to a nonprofit that is building a new $200 million ballroom at the White House. The remaining funds will be distributed to other plaintiffs in the case, including the American Conservative Union.
It’s important to note that as part of the deal, YouTube did not admit to any wrongdoing and will not be making any changes to its policies. Trump’s YouTube account was never deleted; however, he was suspended from uploading new videos for a period before his account was restored in 2023.
This settlement follows similar deals Trump made with the other social media giants earlier this year. In January, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, agreed to pay approximately $25 million, with most of the funds allocated to a fund for Trump’s future presidential library.
The next month, X, formerly known as Twitter, paid about $10 million to settle its own lawsuit. With this final settlement, Trump has now successfully resolved his legal battles with all three of the major social media platforms.
