YouTube to pay $24.5M in Trump lawsuit over account suspension

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account after the January 2021 Capitol riots, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The settlement concludes Trump’s legal battles with major social media platforms he accused of silencing him after leaving office. Earlier this year, Meta paid $25 million and X (formerly Twitter) paid $10 million to resolve similar suits.

People familiar with the matter told the WSJ that Google, YouTube’s parent company, sought to keep its payout lower than Meta’s.

Court documents cited in the report show that $22 million from YouTube’s settlement will be directed to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall.

The funds are earmarked for a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom Trump is building on White House grounds as part of a $200 million project financed by him and “patriot donors,” according to the White House.

The remaining funds will be distributed to other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union.

Trump’s suits targeted the leading tech firms he accused of political bias after they suspended his accounts in the aftermath of the Capitol riots.

While the companies defended their decisions as necessary for safety and compliance with their policies, Trump framed the bans as censorship aimed at silencing conservative voices.

With this agreement, YouTube becomes the last of the three major platforms to settle, closing a chapter in the broader clash between Trump and Big Tech over free speech, platform accountability, and political influence online.