YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit
YouTube, a Google-owned video platform, has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by former U.S. President Donald Trump. The case stemmed from the suspension of his account in January 2021 following the storming of the Capitol, Kazinform News Agency reports.
According to an official filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the funds will be transferred to the trust account of plaintiffs’ attorney John Coale and distributed under the terms of the settlement. Of the total, $22 million will go toward resolving Trump’s claims. At Trump’s direction, that amount will be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and enhancing the National Mall, including the construction of a new White House ballroom.
The remaining $2.5 million will be divided among other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union, writer Naomi Wolf, and several individual claimants who alleged their accounts were unlawfully suspended.
Trump’s YouTube channel was suspended shortly after the events of January 6, 2021. At the time, platform representatives said the move was made “in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence.” His channel was reinstated in 2023.
YouTube is the third major platform to reach a financial settlement with Trump, following Meta’s $25 million agreement and X’s (formerly Twitter) $10 million settlement. All of the cases were linked to restrictions imposed on Trump’s social media accounts.
Earlier, Trump filed lawsuits against major outlets including The Wall Street Journal, and in July announced a settlement with CBS, Paramount, and 60 Minutes.