YouTube has reached a settlement agreement with President Donald Trump, agreeing to pay $24.5 million to resolve legal claims stemming from the suspension of his account on the platform.
Trump filed the lawsuit against the tech giant and its chief executive officer in 2021 following his removal from YouTube after the events of January 6.
According to the settlement filing, Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, will pay $22 million directly related to Trump’s claims.
The funds will be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall at Trump’s direction, according to Variety.
The Trust for the National Mall operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
The entity focuses on restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The settlement specifies that the contributed funds will support construction of the White House State Ballroom.
This represents a significant financial resolution to the long-standing dispute between Trump and the social media platform.
The settlement agreement addresses all disputes and claims arising from the legal action Trump brought against YouTube.
The resolution comes more than three years after the initial suspension occurred.
Beyond Trump’s portion of the settlement, YouTube has agreed to pay an additional $2.5 million to other plaintiffs involved in the case.
The additional plaintiffs include the American Conservative Union, Andrew Baggiani, Austen Fletcher, Maryse Veronica Jean-Louis, Frank Valentine, Kelly Victory and Naomi Wolf.
The $2.5 million will be distributed among these plaintiffs according to the terms of individual settlement agreements.
These funds settle all disputes and claims these plaintiffs had arising from the legal action.
The YouTube settlement marks the third major social media company to reach a financial agreement with Trump over account suspensions.
Each platform had removed Trump’s access following the January 6 events.
Meta Platforms reached a settlement with Trump in January 2025, agreeing to pay $25 million.
That settlement resolved Trump’s claims over his suspension from both Facebook and Instagram, which Meta owns.
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at the time of Trump’s suspension, settled with Trump in February 2025.
That agreement resulted in a $10 million payment to resolve the legal dispute, according to The Post Millennial (TPM).
The combined settlements from the three social media platforms total $59.5 million.
The settlement comes at a time when YouTube has announced policy changes regarding previously banned content.
The platform has indicated it will allow certain accounts back that were terminated for violating rules related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.
YouTube sent correspondence to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan outlining these changes.
The letter explained the company’s new approach to content moderation decisions made during the pandemic and election period.
The communication stated: “Reflecting the Company’s commitment to free expression, YouTube will provide an opportunity for all creators to rejin the platform if the Company terminated their channels for repeated violations of Covid-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect.”
