YouTube settles with Trump for $24.5 million
▼ Summary
– YouTube has settled a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump in 2021, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
– The settlement involves YouTube paying $24.5 million, with $22 million allocated to the Trust for the National Mall for White House State Ballroom construction.
– This settlement is slightly less than Meta’s $25 million agreement, and Google executives aimed to keep it smaller than their rival’s.
– Trump was suspended from YouTube in January 2021 due to concerns about potential violence following the Capitol attack.
– YouTube reinstated Trump’s account in March 2023 after evaluating the risk of violence and election fairness.
YouTube has reached a $24.5 million legal settlement with former President Donald Trump, resolving a lawsuit he initiated in 2021 following his suspension from the platform. This agreement brings closure to a series of lawsuits Trump filed against major social media companies, including Meta (formerly Facebook) and X (formerly Twitter), both of which have also settled their respective cases.
According to the settlement terms, the majority of the payment, $22 million, will be directed to the Trust for the National Mall nonprofit. These funds are designated to assist with the construction of the White House State Ballroom. An additional $2.5 million is allocated to other plaintiffs involved in the case. The total settlement amount falls just short of the $25 million Meta agreed to pay earlier this year, with reports indicating that Google executives were determined to keep their company’s payout lower than that of its rival. X settled for a comparatively smaller sum of approximately $10 million in February.
YouTube suspended Trump’s ability to upload new content in January 2021, pointing to ongoing concerns about the potential for violence following the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. The platform reinstated his account in March 2023, explaining that it had thoroughly assessed the risk of real-world violence while also considering the importance of allowing voters to hear from major political candidates during an election cycle.
(Source: The Verge)
