YouTube has reached a settlement in the lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump in 2021, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Trump had pursued broad legal action against YouTube, owned by Google, as well as Meta (formerly Facebook) and X (previously Twitter) after being banned from these platforms. Now, all three companies have negotiated settlements with the former president.
YouTube is set to pay $24.5 million, with $22 million allocated to The Trust for the National Mall nonprofit, intended to “support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” as detailed in the settlement documentation. Additionally, $2.5 million will be distributed to other plaintiffs. This total settlement amount is slightly under the $25 million Meta agreed to in January. According to the WSJ, Google executives were keen to ensure their settlement amount was less than Meta’s. X concluded a settlement for approximately $10 million in February.
Trump faced a suspension from uploading new videos in January 2021 following the Capitol attack on January 6, with YouTube citing “concerns about the ongoing potential for violence.” YouTube lifted these restrictions in March 2023, after “carefully evaluating the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election.”
