Summary
YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Trump over the suspension of his account after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. This settlement is part of a broader trend where tech companies have paid settlements after similar lawsuits by Trump. The agreement includes funding for a ballroom at the White House.
Key Facts
- YouTube will pay President Trump $24.5 million to settle the lawsuit.
- The lawsuit was about YouTube suspending Trump's account after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
- Part of the settlement will go towards building a ballroom in the White House.
- Google, YouTube's parent company, will allocate $22 million for the ballroom project.
- Meta and Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) have also settled similar lawsuits with Trump.
- A portion of the settlement will be distributed to other plaintiffs like the American Conservative Union.
- Legal experts believe these cases lacked strong legal grounds as First Amendment rights apply to government, not private companies.
- YouTube has recently reinstated some accounts that were previously banned for misinformation.
