In a filing submitted to a federal court in Oakland, California, on September 29, Alphabet — YouTube’s parent company and the owner of Google — confirmed the settlement. Of the total, $22 million will be transferred to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Washington’s National Mall, to help fund the construction of the White House Banquet Hall. The remaining $2.5 million will go to other plaintiffs, including author Naomi Wolf and the American Conservative Union (ACU). The settlement, announced a week before a scheduled hearing by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers, does not include any admission of liability by YouTube.
Trump originally filed lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in July 2021, arguing that their decisions to suspend his accounts after the Capitol riot were based on “unclear, vague, and constantly shifting standards.” The platforms said the suspensions were necessary to prevent the risk of further violence.
Legal experts at the time suggested Trump had little chance of winning in court. However, since Trump’s return to the White House, several tech and media companies have opted for settlements, seeking to avoid potential policy repercussions that could affect their businesses.
Earlier this year, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, agreed to pay $25 million to settle a similar case, with $22 million earmarked for Trump’s presidential library project. In February, social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, also paid about $10 million to resolve its dispute with Trump.