YouTube Settles Lawsuit with President Trump for $24.5 Million Over Account Suspension
YouTube agreed to pay President Trump $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit regarding his account suspension after the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, with funds directed to the National Mall Trust.
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Overview
- YouTube agreed to pay President Trump $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit over his account suspension following the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, alleging censorship and First Amendment violations.
- Trump's YouTube channel was suspended on January 12, 2021, for violating policies against inciting violence, prompting him to file class-action lawsuits against tech giants in July 2021.
- Of the $24.5 million settlement, $22 million will be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall, earmarked for the construction of a White House ballroom.
- The remaining $2.5 million from the settlement will go to other plaintiffs, including writer Naomi Wolf and the American Conservative Union, whose accounts were also removed.
- YouTube reinstated President Trump's account in 2023, with the settlement explicitly stating no admission of liability or fault from the defendants.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this story by portraying the YouTube settlement as an act of "influence-peddling" rather than legal merit. They emphasize expert opinions dismissing the lawsuits' credibility and link the payout to YouTube's subsequent reinstatement of controversial accounts, implying a quid pro quo and problematic political appeasement.
"Ponying up tens of millions of dollars to settle Trump's lawsuits alleging censorship is a striking about-face for Silicon Valley, which for years defended the right to police its own social media platforms."
NPR"Alphabet agreed to pay $22 million "to settle and resolve with Plaintiff Donald J. Trump... which he has directed to be contributed, on his behalf, to the Trust for the National Mall, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom," a court filing said."
ARS Technica"YouTube values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse."
BBC News"YouTube has agreed to a $24.5 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by former President Donald Trump."
USA TODAY"In settling the lawsuit, YouTube and its parent company, Google parent Alphabet, agreed to pay $22 million to Mr. Trump, all of which will be directed into the Trust for the National Mall, a fund that is "dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating that National Mall" and "to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom" that Mr. Trump is building."
CBS News"The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability, the filing says."
Associated Press"Trump has been raking in cash from legal settlements from tech and media companies."
Deadline"YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump over his suspension from the platform following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol."
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FAQ
President Trump's YouTube account was suspended on January 12, 2021, because his content was found to violate YouTube's policies against inciting violence, following the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Of the $24.5 million settlement, $22 million was contributed to the Trust for the National Mall for the construction of a White House State Ballroom, and $2.5 million was allocated to other plaintiffs including Naomi Wolf and the American Conservative Union.
President Trump also settled lawsuits with Meta and X (formerly Twitter), with Meta paying $25 million and X paying $10 million in settlements related to his account removals.
No, the settlement explicitly stated that YouTube did not admit any fault or liability as part of the agreement with President Trump.
YouTube reinstated President Trump's account in 2023 following the settlement agreement.
History
- This story does not have any previous versions.