Google’s YouTube has agreed to a $24.5 million payment to settle a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump, stemming from his account suspension in 2021 after the events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol.
Court documents filed in California’s federal court indicate that $22 million of this settlement will be channeled to the Trust for the National Mall, while the remaining funds will be allocated to other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union.
This marks Google as the latest major tech giant to settle legal challenges initiated by Mr. Trump. Earlier this year, in January, Meta Platforms agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a similar lawsuit concerning his 2021 suspension from Facebook. Similarly, Elon Musk’s platform, X (formerly Twitter), previously settled a related lawsuit for $10 million.
It’s important to note that the settlement explicitly states it does not represent an admission of liability or wrongdoing on Google’s part. Google has confirmed the settlement but has opted not to provide further comment beyond the official filing.
The announcement of this settlement comes just one week prior to a scheduled October 6 court hearing, where U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers was set to discuss the case in Oakland, California.