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

A picture taken on October 5, 2021 in Toulouse shows the logo of Youtube social media displayed by a by a tablet and a smartphone. (AFP Photo)
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A picture taken on October 5, 2021 in Toulouse shows the logo of Youtube social media displayed by a by a tablet and a smartphone. (AFP Photo)
September 30, 2025 01:01 PM GMT+03:00

YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The case, brought in 2021 against Alphabet-owned YouTube and its then-chief executive, marks the final settlement in a string of lawsuits Trump launched against major social media companies after leaving office.

According to court documents cited by the WSJ, Trump’s $22 million share of the settlement will go to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall. The money has been earmarked for a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom he is constructing on White House grounds. The White House said the $200 million project will be funded by Trump and “other patriot donors.”

The remaining settlement funds will be distributed to other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union. People familiar with the matter told the WSJ that Google pushed to keep its payout below the $25 million Meta agreed to earlier this year. In February, Elon Musk’s X settled a similar Trump lawsuit for about $10 million.

Trump celebrated the agreement late Monday, reposting a message on his Truth Social platform: “This MASSIVE victory proves Big Tech censorship has consequences. I fought for free speech and WON!”

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump protest outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. on Jan. 6, 2021. (AFP Photo)
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump protest outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. on Jan. 6, 2021. (AFP Photo)

'Ever-shifting standards'

Major platforms suspended Trump in the days after Jan. 6, citing fears he would incite further violence with false claims of election fraud.

YouTube blocked him from uploading content on Jan. 12, 2021, citing “concerns about the ongoing potential for violence.” The move mirrored actions by Facebook and Twitter, which also suspended his accounts.

Trump’s lawyers argued in a July 2021 complaint that he had been wrongfully censored under “non-existent or broad, vague and ever-shifting standards.”

The ban came after violent clashes left more than 140 police officers injured as pro-Trump rioters wielded bats, flagpoles, hockey sticks, Tasers and bear spray in an effort to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s win.

Free speech debate

Legal experts have consistently said Trump’s cases were weak, pointing out that the First Amendment restricts the government, not private companies, from curbing speech.

“YouTube is not a state actor and its exercise of editorial discretion over its private service does not implicate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights,” the company argued in a December 2021 rebuttal.

The media watchdog group Media Matters denounced the settlement, with its president Angelo Carusone calling it “shameful and shortsighted,” and warning it would embolden Trump’s efforts “to stifle dissent by bringing media and online platforms to heel.”

Trump has pursued multiple cases against tech and media companies since his return to office, even as experts view many of them as legally tenuous.

Paramount Global, for instance, agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over an interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris that he claimed was unfairly edited. The deal came as Paramount sought approval for its merger with Skydance, which the Federal Communications Commission cleared in July.

Meanwhile, Alphabet faces an antitrust trial in Virginia, where federal prosecutors are seeking to break up Google’s ad technology business.

September 30, 2025 01:02 PM GMT+03:00
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