YouTube has reached a significant $24.5 million settlement with former President Donald Trump and other individuals whose accounts were suspended following the turbulent Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol. This agreement was formally announced in a legal document filed recently.
Following the Capitol riot, YouTube temporarily suspended Trump’s account, preventing him from posting new videos. The platform cited concerns that his content could incite further violence. In response, Trump filed a lawsuit in October 2021, alleging that YouTube and other social media companies had unfairly censored him by deactivating his accounts.
The bulk of this settlement, a substantial $22 million, is earmarked for Trump himself, as detailed in the court filing from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Interestingly, he plans to donate this sum to the Trust for the National Mall and allocate funds for building a new ballroom at the White House.
The remaining $2.5 million from the settlement will be shared among other plaintiffs involved in the case, notably including prominent writer Naomi Wolf and the American Conservative Union.
“Had he not been re-elected, this case would have dragged on indefinitely,” stated John Coale, one of Trump’s lawyers. “With the president’s re-election, the outlook significantly improved.”
A spokesperson for YouTube chose not to comment on the matter. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on this settlement.
This settlement marks the most recent instance of major technology and media companies concluding costly legal disputes with Trump. He has frequently accused social media platforms of censorship and alleged defamation by media outlets.
Earlier in January, Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, settled a similar lawsuit with Trump for $25 million. Likewise, X (formerly Twitter), under Elon Musk’s ownership, settled a dispute regarding Trump’s 2021 account suspension for approximately $10 million in February.
Traditional media companies have also yielded to Trump’s legal actions. Paramount, for example, settled a lawsuit with him in July for $16 million, stemming from the editing of a CBS “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. In December, ABC News agreed to a $15 million settlement in a defamation case brought by Trump against the network and its anchor, George Stephanopoulos.
In recent months, Trump and his administration have intensified pressure campaigns against perceived adversaries, targeting law firms supporting Democratic causes, notable universities, and media personalities such as Jimmy Kimmel. Just this month, Trump sued The New York Times, seeking $15 billion in damages. While that lawsuit was dismissed, he retains the option to refile.
Up until recently, Trump’s lawsuits against social media companies had faced significant roadblocks. A federal judge dismissed his case against Twitter in 2022, and similar lawsuits against Meta and YouTube had been paused by the courts.
X promptly reinstated Trump’s account after Elon Musk’s acquisition in 2022, with both YouTube and Meta following suit by restoring his accounts in 2023.
Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, commented, “The law was ultimately on the platforms’ side.” He suggested these settlements appeared to be a form of “buying influence” with the administration.
He further added that these companies “certainly seem to be currying favor with the presidential administration.”
For Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, this $24.5 million settlement is a relatively minor expense. The company’s recent earnings report revealed that YouTube alone generated $9.7 billion in ad revenue during the second quarter of the year.
Since Trump’s inauguration, Alphabet executives have been actively engaging with the White House, aiming to mend what was once a strained relationship. Notably, CEO Sundar Pichai and Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently attended a White House dinner with the president to discuss artificial intelligence.
Sergey Brin’s girlfriend, wellness influencer Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto, publicly praised YouTube’s settlement on her Instagram story, stating, “Well deserved. This kind of censorship was an abomination.”
Just last week, YouTube announced it would reinstate content creators previously banned for violating its misinformation policies concerning COVID-19 and the 2020 election. The platform also indicated a relaxation of some content moderation policies, a move that comes amidst a Republican congressional investigation into whether social media companies were pressured by the Biden administration to restrict speech.
Coale clarified that while these policy shifts were part of discussions during the settlement negotiations, they were not a formal condition for the agreement.
“Things are much better than they were,” Coale remarked, adding, “There’s no government currently pressuring these platforms, and I believe that will continue, regardless of who occupies the White House.”