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YouTube caves to Trump with $24.5 million settlement, marking the end of a lawsuit that has been ongoing since 2021. The former president sued YouTube, along with Meta and X, after being suspended in the wake of the January 6th Capitol attack. Now, all three tech giants have paid up to close the chapter on one of the most contentious battles over online speech.
According to The Wall Street Journal, YouTube will pay $24.5 million to settle the case. Of that total, $22 million will fund the Trust for the National Mall to support the construction of a White House State Ballroom. The remaining $2.5 million will go to other plaintiffs tied to the lawsuit.
Interestingly, the amount is slightly lower than Meta’s $25 million settlement earlier this year. Reports suggest Google, YouTube’s parent company, wanted to keep its payout smaller than its rival’s. Meanwhile, X (formerly Twitter) settled with Trump for about $10 million back in February.
Trump’s suspension from YouTube came just days after the January 6th insurrection. The platform cited “concerns about the ongoing potential for violence” as the reason for blocking him from posting new content. The ban lasted until March 2023, when YouTube lifted the restrictions.
At the time, the company explained it had “carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence” while also weighing the need for voters to hear from all major political candidates ahead of upcoming elections.
The YouTube caves to Trump with $24.5 million settlement news highlights how big tech firms are trying to move on from past controversies surrounding Trump’s social media bans. It also underscores the delicate balance platforms face between enforcing content policies and managing political pressure.
With this payout, YouTube joins Meta and X in closing the book on years of litigation. But the broader debate over how tech companies moderate political speech—and whether they hold too much power—remains far from over.
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