San Francisco, CA – YouTube Agrees to Pay $24.5 Million to Settle Donald Trump’s Lawsuit Over Post-Jan. 6 Account Suspension
Google-owned video platform YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the temporary suspension of his official channel following the January 6th Capitol attack.
The settlement, disclosed in federal court documents on Monday, makes YouTube the final major social media company—following Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and X (formerly Twitter)—to resolve a series of high-profile lawsuits brought by the President alleging he was unfairly censored by Big Tech.
The core of the multi-year legal battle stemmed from YouTube’s decision to temporarily restrict Trump’s ability to upload new videos on January 12, 2021, citing concerns about the risk of inciting further real-world violence. While YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet, did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, the agreement dismisses the case. Trump’s channel was eventually reinstated in March 2023.
According to the court filing, the vast majority of the settlement is earmarked for a non-profit organization dedicated to a White House project backed by President Trump.
$22 million of the total amount will be contributed on Trump’s behalf to the Trust for the National Mall, a non-profit dedicated to the construction of a new State Ballroom at the White House.
The remaining $2.5 million will be paid to other plaintiffs in the case, which included the American Conservative Union and author Naomi Wolf, whose accounts had also faced content restrictions.
The payout follows similar multi-million dollar settlements earlier this year, with Meta agreeing to pay $25 million and X settling for approximately $10 million to resolve the respective lawsuits filed by Trump over his corresponding account bans.
While legal experts have previously expressed skepticism about the legal standing of the First Amendment claims against private companies, the trio of settlements marks a significant financial victory for the President. John P. Coale, one of Trump’s lawyers who filed the suits, reportedly noted that the President’s return to the White House was instrumental in accelerating the settlements.
A spokesperson for Google confirmed the settlement but declined to comment further. The settlement was disclosed one week before a scheduled court hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
