YouTube to pay $24.5 million for suspending Trump's account

YouTube agreed to pay a $24.5 million settlement to President Donald Trump and others who were suspended by the video streaming platform in the wake of the Jan 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, according to a legal document filed Monday.

- KATE CONGER

YouTube suspended President Trump's account after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.NYT

YouTube froze Trump's account after the riot, blocking him from uploading new videos and arguing that the content could lead to more violence. Trump sued YouTube in October 2021, claiming that it and other social media firms that removed his accounts had wrongly censored him.

The vast majority of YouTube's settlement payment — $22 million — will go to Trump, according to the filing in US District Court for the Northern District of California. He has directed that the money be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall and to the construction of a ballroom at the White House. The remaining $2.5 million will be distributed among other plaintiffs in the case, including writer Naomi Wolf and the American Conservative Union.

"If he hadn’t been reelected, we'd be in court forever," said John Coale, a lawyer for Trump. “Then the president gets reelected and things look a lot better.”

A representative for YouTube declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the agreement earlier.

YouTube's settlement is the latest move by major technology and media firms to end expensive legal battles with Trump, who has accused social media platforms of censorship and claimed that media firms have defamed him.