YouTube will pay $24.5 million in settlement over the suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account. The settlement stems from a civil lawsuit Trump filed after his channel was temporarily blocked from uploading new videos following the January 2021 Capitol riot. Trump argued that YouTube’s actions constituted unlawful censorship against him and other conservatives.
This settlement makes YouTube the latest major platform to pay damages over Trump’s content restrictions, following similar cases with Meta and X:
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram) previously paid $25 million in a related case;
- X (formerly Twitter) paid approximately $10 million for a similar claim.
According to court documents, the bulk of YouTube’s $24.5 million payment—$22 million—will go to a non-profit fund established to support the construction of a new event hall at the White House. The remaining amount will be distributed among Trump’s legal fees and other plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit.
YouTube does not admit any wrongdoing by making this payment and will not change its content policies. Although Trump’s channel was reinstated in 2023, this court ruling highlights the financial implications platforms face when dealing with politically sensitive content.
