YouTube to pay Trump $24.5m over account suspension

YouTube will pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump after the platform suspended his account following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Most of the money, $22 million, will support a project to build a new White House ballroom, while $2.5 million will go to groups that joined the lawsuit, including the American Conservative Union.

The deal follows similar settlements with other tech firms. Meta paid $25 million earlier this year, and X (formerly Twitter), now owned by Elon Musk, agreed to $10 million. All of Trump’s social media accounts have since been reinstated.

The cases stemmed from Trump’s accusation that tech companies unfairly censored conservatives. At the time, the platforms said his posts risked inciting more violence.

Tech giants have since softened their stance. CEOs from Alphabet, Meta and X attended Trump’s recent inauguration, signalling a thaw in relations. YouTube also announced it is restoring some accounts previously banned for spreading false claims about COVID-19 and the 2020 election.