YouTube agrees to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit: Court filing

YouTube has reached a settlement to pay $24.5 million to President Donald Trump and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit following his suspension from the platform in 2021. The settlement, outlined in a court filing, includes $22 million designated to support Trump’s construction of a White House State Ballroom, held in a tax-exempt entity known as the Trust for the National Mall. An additional $2.5 million will be allocated to the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which include the American Conservative Union, Andrew Baggiani, Austen Fletcher, Maryse Veronica Jean-Louis, Frank Valentine, Kelly Victory, and Naomi Wolf.

The filing clarifies that the settlement does not imply an admission of liability or fault by YouTube, Google’s subsidiary that owns the platform. A spokesperson for Google referred inquiries to the notice of settlement when approached for comment.

YouTube suspended Trump’s account in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, citing a video uploaded by Trump that violated its policy against inciting violence. The platform reinstated Trump’s channel over two years later, stating that voters should have equal access to major national candidates leading up to an election.

Trump’s lawsuit contended that YouTube infringed on his constitutional right to free speech by indefinitely banning him from the platform. This settlement marks YouTube as the latest social media company to resolve legal disputes with Trump following the Capitol insurrection.

Earlier this year, Meta (formerly Facebook) agreed to a settlement with Trump, involving a $22 million donation to his presidential library and $3 million in legal fees. Similarly, in February, Elon Musk’s X company agreed to pay approximately $10 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump.

As developments unfold, stay tuned for updates on this ongoing story.