New York
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after he was suspended by social media platforms following the January 6, 2021, insurrection.\n <\/p>\n
\n This makes Alphabet-owned YouTube the last of the three Big Tech social media companies sued by Trump \u2014 which included Meta and then Twitter, now called X \u2014 to settle over his removal from their platforms.\n <\/p>\n
\n YouTube will pay $22 million to settle the claims made by Trump to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, which is \u201cdedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,\u201d according to a court document.\n <\/p>\n
\n The social media company will also pay $2.5 million to settle with other plaintiffs, such as the nonprofit American Conservative Union.\n <\/p>\n
\n YouTube directed CNN to the court document when asked for comment.\n <\/p>\n
\n \ufeffMeta agreed to settle<\/a> Trump\u2019s lawsuit in January for $25 million. X\u2019s settlement in February involved a payment of around $10 million, according to the New York Times<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n When they suspended his accounts, the platforms<\/a> said<\/a> Trump\u2019s posts about the riot risked inciting further violence. At the time, legal experts said<\/a> similar suits had been dismissed because tech companies have the right to run their platforms as they see fit.\n <\/p>\n \n However, the settlements come as tech giants have taken a more conciliatory, if not outright supportive, approach to Trump and Republican interests since he took office in January.\n <\/p>\n \n After Elon Musk acquired X \u2014 then known as Twitter \u2014 in late 2022, he reinstated Trump\u2019s account<\/a>; Meta followed suit<\/a> in February 2023 and YouTube<\/a> the following month.\n <\/p>\n \n Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai all sat front and center<\/a> at Trump\u2019s inauguration, and social media platform has rolled back content moderation efforts<\/a> that Republican users had likened to censorship.\n <\/p>\n