YouTube to pay $31.5 million to settle Trump account suspension suit
PHOTO: Unsplash
Alphabet-owned GOOGL.O YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million (S$31.5 million) to settle a lawsuit that US President Donald Trump brought against the company over the suspension of his account following the January 2021 US Capitol riots, a court filing showed on Monday (September 29).
"This massive victory proves Big Tech censorship has consequences," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account.
The deal makes Google the last of the three big tech companies to resolve lawsuits Trump brought in July 2021 accusing them of unlawfully silencing conservative viewpoints.
Trump had also sued Twitter, now known as X, and Facebook owner Meta
Meta and X agreed earlier this year to pay to settle the lawsuits.
Under the YouTube settlement, $22 million will be paid on Trump's behalf to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit that the filing says is dedicated to the construction of a $200 million ballroom that Trump is building at the White House.
Trump did not lose his YouTube account in 2021 but was suspended from uploading new videos after the Capitol riot on Jan 6. It was restored in 2023.
In January, Meta agreed to pay about $25 million and X paid about $10 million in February to settle similar lawsuits by Trump.
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