YouTube has reached a notable settlement, becoming the final tech giant to resolve a lawsuit initiated by President Donald Trump. The platform, owned by Google, will pay $24.5 million to settle claims stemming from Trump’s legal challenges in 2021. This settlement comes after Trump’s YouTube account was banned due to the events of January 6, when violence erupted at the Capitol.
The platform justified the ban by stating it acted to prevent potential content that could incite further violence. Trump’s channel was reinstated in March 2023, but the litigation surrounding his removal from the platform persisted. The Wall Street Journal highlighted that the YouTube settlement is the second-largest amount resulting from Trump’s lawsuits against tech companies, trailing only behind the $25 million settlement with Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms.
Insiders suggested that Google opted for a smaller settlement to avoid surpassing Meta’s payout. At $24.5 million, YouTube’s payment is notably more than the $10 million settled with X, formerly known as Twitter, for a similar case.
In an interesting turn, although Trump will receive the bulk of this settlement—$22 million—none of it will go into his pocket. Instead, the funds will be directed to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall. This organization is tasked with developing a prominent ballroom near the White House. The remaining $2.5 million from the settlement will be distributed among other plaintiffs involved in the case, although details on attorney fees remain unspecified.
Months before the settlement, YouTube was reportedly engaged in “productive conversations” with the Trump administration, signaling an attempt to navigate the contentious relationship stemming from the lawsuit. The outcome of this legal conflict illustrates the shifting dynamics between powerful tech companies and influential political figures in the current landscape.
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