YouTube has reached a $24.5 million settlement with President Donald Trump and several other plaintiffs who sued the platform after Trump’s suspension in 2021, according to a court filing. The agreement resolves a dispute that had been ongoing for years following the former suspension of Trump’s account in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack.
The settlement allocates $22 million toward Trump’s planned construction of a White House State Ballroom, with the funds being placed in a tax-exempt entity known as the Trust for the National Mall. The remaining $2.5 million will be distributed among other plaintiffs in the case, including the American Conservative Union, Andrew Baggiani, Austen Fletcher, Maryse Veronica Jean-Louis, Frank Valentine, Kelly Victory, and Naomi Wolf. The filing emphasized that the settlement is not an admission of fault by YouTube but a way to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued litigation.
Trump’s lawsuit argued that YouTube’s decision to indefinitely ban his account violated his right to free speech by restricting his ability to communicate with the public. YouTube had initially removed him from the platform, citing its policy against incitement to violence, but reinstated his channel more than two years later, saying it wanted voters to hear from all major political candidates.
This settlement follows a series of legal resolutions between Trump and major social media companies. Earlier this year, Meta agreed to donate $22 million to Trump’s presidential library and cover $3 million in legal fees, while X settled a similar lawsuit by agreeing to pay roughly $10 million.
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