In a development that marks the end of a high-profile legal battle between former President Donald Trump and Silicon Valley, YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit over his suspension from the platform following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The settlement makes YouTube, owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc., the last of the three major tech giants targeted by Trump to resolve the litigation outside of court.
The agreement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, follows earlier settlements with Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, and X, formerly known as Twitter. Trump filed the lawsuits in 2021, accusing the companies of political censorship after his accounts were suspended in the wake of the Capitol riot.
At the time of Trump’s suspension, YouTube justified its decision by citing concerns that his videos could incite further violence. The ban was controversial and immediate, effectively cutting off Trump’s ability to post videos to millions of subscribers. The company later reinstated his account in March 2023, but by then the legal disputes were already underway.
The $24.5 million deal with YouTube is the second-largest settlement Trump has secured in his tech platform lawsuits. Meta agreed to a $25 million payout, the largest to date, while Twitter settled for $10 million — less than half of what YouTube will now pay. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Google executives were keen to ensure that their settlement did not exceed Meta’s, reflecting both financial caution and rivalry between the two companies.
What makes the resolution particularly notable is how the funds will be allocated. Of the $24.5 million, Trump himself will not personally collect any money. Instead, the bulk — roughly $22 million — will be directed to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit organization currently spearheading efforts to construct a grand ballroom near the White House. The remaining $2.5 million will be distributed among other plaintiffs involved in the case. Attorney fees have not been publicly disclosed.
For Trump, the settlements represent both a symbolic and strategic victory. The former president has repeatedly accused Big Tech firms of collusion and bias, using the lawsuits to underscore his broader message that conservative voices are systematically targeted online. While the tech companies have denied political motivations, the multimillion-dollar payouts underscore their preference to avoid prolonged courtroom battles that could have exposed internal policies and decision-making processes to public scrutiny.
The timing of the YouTube deal is also significant. Just months earlier, the company had been engaged in what sources described as “productive conversations” with Trump’s team, as reported by The Hill. Those discussions apparently laid the groundwork for a resolution that allowed both sides to avoid the unpredictability of trial proceedings.
Though the lawsuits have now been resolved, questions remain about the long-term implications for tech regulation and political speech online. Legal experts note that while the settlements are not admissions of wrongdoing, they highlight the immense influence platforms wield in shaping public discourse — and the political risks that come with such power.
With YouTube’s settlement, Trump has now closed the chapter on a series of lawsuits that collectively netted nearly $60 million in payouts from three of the largest social media companies in the world. Yet the broader debate over censorship, free speech, and the responsibility of tech platforms is far from over, especially as Trump continues his bid to reclaim the presidency and social media companies brace for another contentious election cycle.
