Washington: YouTube, the video platform owned by Alphabet (Google), has agreed to a $24.5 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump over his suspension from the platform following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Under the terms of the settlement, $22 million will be directed to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall to support construction of what is being called the White House State Ballroom—a project Trump has championed.
The remaining $2.5 million will be paid to other plaintiffs in the case, including the American Conservative Union and author Naomi Wolf.
YouTube did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, and the company will not be required to change its existing policies or content moderation procedures.
Trump’s account had been suspended from uploading new content in January 2021, with YouTube citing “concerns about the ongoing potential for violence” in the wake of the Capitol riot.
This settlement puts YouTube in line with Meta and X (formerly Twitter), which had earlier settled similar lawsuits with Trump. Meta agreed to a $25 million settlement in January 2025, and X settled for about $10 million in February.
Legal observers had long viewed Trump’s removal suits as weak on First Amendment grounds, noting that U.S. constitutional free speech protections typically restrict government actors, not private companies.
Critics have also warned that high-dollar settlements may set a precedent of tech firms paying to avoid courts rather than contesting claims.
