Google-owned YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account following the January 6 Capitol riot.
Of the total, approximately $22 million will be allocated to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, intended for a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom at the White House. The remaining $2.5 million goes to other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union and writer Naomi Wolf.
The settlement makes YouTube the last major tech company to resolve one of three lawsuits Trump filed against social media platforms. Meta paid $25 million and X (formerly Twitter) $10 million.
Legal experts note that Trump has earned over $80 million from similar lawsuits since his 2024 election win. CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, settled with the President for $16 million in July, over allegations that it edited Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s 60 Minutes interview to favor her.
The FCC approved Skydance’s $8 billion merger with Paramount a few weeks after the Trump settlement.
Critics point out that, though Trump’s claims had weak legal merit, most major companies likely settled for business reasons, considering potential regulatory pressure under the Trump administration.