YouTube to pay President Trump $24.5M to settle account lawsuit

Alphabet-owned YouTube has agreed to pay USD 24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Trump described the settlement as a “massive victory for free speech” in a post on Truth Social, saying it serves as a consequence for Big Tech censorship. He added that the development provides justice for users who have been shadowbanned or removed from digital platforms, reinforcing the significance of free speech.

Trump initially filed the lawsuit in October 2021, claiming that YouTube and other social media platforms wrongfully censored him by removing his accounts. YouTube had suspended Trump’s account on January 12, 2021, six days after the Capitol riots, citing concerns that his videos, including those questioning the 2020 election results, could incite further violence. The platform stated that its policies prohibit content that promotes real-world harm. The ban was initially indefinite but subject to review, and the account was reinstated in March 2023 after assessing that the risk of violence had diminished.

YouTube’s settlement follows similar resolutions by other major platforms. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, paid USD 25 million in January 2025, while X (formerly Twitter) settled its account suspension claims for USD 10 million in February 2025. YouTube is the last of the major platforms to resolve Trump’s claims.

The settlement agreement was filed in federal court in Oakland, California, on September 29, 2025, concluding a multi-year legal dispute over social media account suspensions and the broader debate surrounding content moderation policies by large technology companies.