A striking element of the settlement is the allocation of $22 million to the Trust for the National Mall.
Google-owned YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account in 2021. The ban was imposed in the aftermath of the Capitol riots, when major social media platforms, citing the risk of incitement, removed Trump from their services. The settlement closes a years-long legal battle that tested the boundaries of political speech, platform accountability, and the rights of private companies to moderate content.
John Coale, Trump’s lawyer in the social media cases, as quoted by Bloomberg, said, “I’m happy, the President is happy to get this resolved.” Google, YouTube’s parent company, declined to comment.
$22 million for White House ballroom project
A particularly striking element of the agreement is that $22 million of the payout will be directed to the Trust for the National Mall. The funds are earmarked for the construction of a new ballroom at the White House, designed in the style of the grand reception halls at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
This echoes earlier settlements where Trump channelled large portions of compensation into legacy projects. In January, Meta Platforms agreed to pay $25 million, of which $22 million went towards a Trump presidential library.
Trump’s past settlements with other social media platforms
Since regaining the presidency last November, Trump has secured favourable outcomes with several major technology and media companies he accused of mistreating him. In February, he ended his legal fight with Twitter, now known as X, with reports suggesting a settlement worth around $10 million.
Trump had originally sued Google, Facebook, and Twitter jointly, seeking damages not only for himself but also to establish legal limits on platforms’ ability to ban or flag users. Though courts consistently ruled that social media companies retain broad First Amendment rights to regulate content, Trump continued to press his claims until settlements were reached.
Google’s legal landscape
The settlement comes at a sensitive moment for Google, which is fighting a series of antitrust cases brought by the US Department of Justice. Regulators have accused the company of monopolising key areas of online advertising and search. Earlier this month, however, a Washington federal judge declined to order Google to divest its Chrome browser, handing the company a significant victory.