Alphabet to pay Trump $22 million to settle YouTube lawsuit

Alphabet will pay $22 million to Donald Trump under a settlement in the case of blocking his YouTube account after the riots on January 6, 2021 in the Capitol. Other plaintiffs will receive another $2.5 million, which will be divided among them, writes WSJ.

Trump filed this lawsuit back in 2021, along with similar lawsuits against Twitter (now X after being acquired by Elon Musk) and Facebook, claiming that the blocking violated his free speech rights. Twitter previously paid him about $10 million , and Meta agreed to a $25 million settlement.

The Alphabet deal comes shortly after the company sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee criticizing government pressure to moderate content. Alphabet also announced that YouTube would open a path to reinstating accounts that had previously been suspended for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 or the election.

The funds from Alphabet will go to the Trust for the National Mall, a charitable organization, and will be used to build the ballroom that Trump is building at the White House. The money from the Meta deal was also directed in a similar way.

This summer, Paramount also settled a lawsuit with Trump over allegations that he misrepresented an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, paying the company $16 million. Shortly thereafter, the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount's sale to Skydance for $8 billion.