Outlook Business Desk
YouTube, owned by Google, has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump over his 2021 account suspension due to concerns about potential violence after the January 6 Capitol Hill attack, reported The Washington Post.
Of the $24.5 million settlement, Trump has directed YouTube to contribute $22 million towards building a new White House ballroom, with the remaining $2.5 million set to be distributed among other plaintiffs claiming censorship by the platform.
Beneficiaries of the $2.5 million include author Naomi Wolf, the American Conservative Union, and other parties involved in the lawsuit.
YouTube did not specify which rules Trump violated but cited concerns about potential ongoing violence during the January 6 Capitol Hill riots. His account was reinstated in 2023, allowing him to return to the platform after nearly two years of suspension.
This agreement follows comparable settlements with Meta and X (formely twitter), which had also suspended Trump's account after the January 6 attacks. Meta paid $25 million, while X agreed to a $10 million settlement earlier this year.
Trump has also secured settlements from major entertainment and news firms as well. Disney, owner of ABC News, agreed to pay $15 million plus $1 million in legal fees to settle defamation claims.
Paramount, which owns CBS News, has reached a $16 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit regarding a 2024 campaign interview with then former US Vice President Kamala Harris, which Trump alleged was misleadingly edited and negatively impacted his election chances.
Trump has also filed lawsuits against major publications, including the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, over their reporting. He has also broadened his legal efforts to target universities, law firms, and other institutions he claims acted against his interests.