YouTube is set to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump after he was suspended by the video-sharing platform following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C.
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According to CNN, YouTube is the last of three “Big Tech” social media platforms that Trump sued for the suspensions. Others sued were Meta (formerly known as Facebook) and Twitter (now called X). Meta had previously agreed to settle Trump’s lawsuit by paying $25 million. X’s settlement was around $10 million.
As part of the Trump lawsuit settlement, YouTube will pay $22 million to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall. This organization is “dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom.”
The other $2.5 million of the lawsuit settlement will go to other plaintiffs, which includes the nonprofit American Conservative Union.
After the lawsuit was settled, President Trump took to Truth Social and shared a screenshot of a post praising him. “YouTube SURRENDERS! Pays President Trump $24.5 MILLION for illegal ban! This MASSIVE victory proves Big Tech censorship has consequences. Every shadowbanned patriot deserves justice!”
He then added, “Trump fought for free speech and WON!”
The post also features a photo of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan giving President Trump a check for $24.5 million.
Trump launched Truth Social just over a year after other social media platforms suspended him.
YouTube Plans to Reinstatate Accounts Banned For Posting Misinformation About the Pandemic, 2020 Election
Just before it settled the Trump lawsuit, YouTube announced plans to reinstate accounts banned for posting misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election.
CNN reported that the announcement came in a letter sent by an attorney for YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, to House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan.
The committee launched an investigation into whether the Biden administration pressured companies to ban specific users from their platforms.
“YouTube values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these characters have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse,” the letter reads.
YouTube’s parent company accused the Biden administration of urging the platform to remove content related to COVID-19. The content “did not violate” the platform’s policies. However, YouTube acknowledged it continued to “develop and enforce its policies independently.”
“As online platforms, including Alphabet, grappled with these decisions, the Administration’s officials, including President Biden, created a political atmosphere that sought to influence the actions of platforms based on their concerns regarding misinformation,” the letter adds. “It is unacceptable and wrong when any government, including the Biden Administration, attempts to dictate how the Company moderates content.”