Alphabet to Pay Donald Trump $22 Million in YouTube Suspension Lawsuit

Alphabet will pay PresidentDonald Trump $22 million as part of a class-action lawsuit over the suspension of several YouTube accounts following the January 6 riot in Washington. Other plaintiffs whose channels were blocked joined the suit, and they will share an additional $2.5 million under the settlement.

The lawsuit, filed in 2021, united several claims against major platforms on the grounds of violating the right to free speech through restrictions on access to accounts.

Details of the settlement and the role of other platforms

As part of this case, Twitter – now known as X after its rebranding – paid Trump about $10 million to settle the suit. Meta had also agreed earlier this year to pay $25 million over similar cases of account suspensions.

Under the terms of the agreement, YouTube provides a path to reinstate certain accounts that were previously blocked for misinformation related to COVID-19 or election-security issues. The financial portion of the settlement is directed to the Trust for the National Mall, a partner of the National Park Service, to support the construction of a ceremonial hall at the White House. A similar mechanism was used in the prior settlement with Meta.

In the context of other developments in the media sphere this summer, Paramount, the parent company of CBS, agreed to settle the president’s suit over editing an interview with Kamala Harris, paying $16 million. Regulators also approved Paramount’s merger with Skydance for about $8 billion.

These decisions reflect a broader trend toward reevaluating content moderation and weighing the balance between freedom of speech and the accountability of large platforms for public figures.