On Monday, September 29, 2025, YouTube became the latest in a string of major tech and media companies to settle lawsuits with President Donald Trump, agreeing to pay a hefty $24.5 million to resolve claims stemming from the suspension of Trump’s account after the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. This settlement, reported by multiple outlets including AFP and PC Gamer, pushes the total amount Trump has received from such settlements in the last year to over $90 million—a sum that’s as eye-catching as the political drama behind it.
Trump’s legal offensive began in earnest after he was deplatformed by YouTube, Facebook (now Meta), Twitter (now X), and other media giants in the chaotic aftermath of January 6. Each company cited concerns about the potential for further violence, with YouTube specifically pointing to “concerns about the ongoing potential for violence” and violations of its policies against inciting violence. Twitter, for its part, said it suspended Trump’s account due to “the risk of further incitement of violence.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, wrote at the time, “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
Trump and his legal team responded with lawsuits, arguing that these actions amounted to wrongful censorship and violated his free speech rights. The complaint against YouTube, filed in July 2021, accused the company of acting under “non-existent or broad, vague and ever-shifting standards” and even alleged that YouTube was doing the bidding of the Biden administration, making it, in effect, a government actor. The lawsuit also challenged the constitutionality of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that shields platforms from liability for user-generated content and gives them broad leeway to moderate content as they see fit.
But legal experts and commentators from sources like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and PC Gamer have widely dismissed these claims as meritless. As one analysis put it, “YouTube is a private company with its own First Amendment rights—which includes the right not to publish or platform content or speakers it disfavors.” The argument that YouTube became a government actor simply by responding to government pressure, they say, doesn’t hold water under current law. Section 230, meanwhile, “was passed in 1996, long before the advent of social media,” and is actually seen by many as a safeguard against government overreach, not a tool for it.
Yet, despite these legal opinions, the settlements kept coming. YouTube’s $24.5 million payout includes $22 million earmarked for the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit supporting the construction of a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom at the White House—a project expected to cost $200 million overall. The remaining $2.5 million goes to other plaintiffs in the case, including the American Conservative Union and writer Naomi Wolf. According to court filings, Alphabet (YouTube’s parent company) did not admit any wrongdoing and agreed to no policy or product changes as part of the deal.
Trump, never one to miss a moment of celebration, took to his Truth Social platform to declare, “this MASSIVE victory proves Big Tech censorship has consequences,” adding, “Trump fought for free speech and WON!” He also shared an AI-generated image of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan handing over a giant check, the words “Settlement for Wrongful Suspension” emblazoned across it, while Trump grins and gives a thumbs up. The social media fanfare was hard to miss—and, for Trump’s supporters, a rallying cry against what they see as Silicon Valley’s political bias.
The YouTube settlement is just the latest in a series of lucrative deals. In January 2025, Meta agreed to a $25 million settlement, with $22 million going toward Trump’s presidential library in Miami. X (formerly Twitter) followed with a $10 million settlement in February. Paramount Global, meanwhile, paid $16 million to resolve a lawsuit over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, including legal fees and a commitment to release transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates. Disney, owner of ABC News, settled a defamation suit filed by Trump for $16 million, with $15 million going to the presidential library and $1 million for legal fees, after anchor George Stephanopoulos incorrectly stated that Trump had been found liable for rape in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Notably, these settlements often coincided with business imperatives or regulatory hurdles. For example, Paramount’s agreement came just weeks before the FCC approved Skydance Media’s acquisition of the company. Critics, including FIRE’s Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere, have called some of the lawsuits “forehead-slappingly stupid” and see the settlements as companies choosing short-term peace of mind and regulatory favor over standing firm on First Amendment principles.
Opponents of the settlements, especially from civil liberties groups, warn of a chilling effect. “If our colleges and universities are forced to toe the ideological line of whoever is in power, and if our media companies operate under the boot of the state, we lose both the free inquiry given to us by academic freedom and the open discourse given to us by a free press,” one commentator wrote. The concern is that “the Trump administration’s intention to seize control of America’s media industry through the use and abuse of government powers” could set a dangerous precedent, especially if companies are seen as caving to political pressure rather than defending their editorial independence.
For their part, YouTube and other social media firms have recently signaled a loosening of content moderation. Last week, YouTube announced plans to restore accounts previously banned for posting misinformation about the 2020 election and Covid-19. In a statement to a Republican-controlled congressional committee, YouTube said, “YouTube values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse.” Still, the company made clear in the settlement that it was not admitting wrongdoing nor agreeing to any changes in policy.
All of Trump’s accounts on YouTube, Meta, and X have since been reinstated. The lawsuits may be over, but the debate over the boundaries of free expression, censorship, and the power of private tech giants is anything but settled. With over $90 million in settlements fueling projects like Trump’s Miami presidential library and the National Mall ballroom, the financial and political stakes remain sky-high. Whether these outcomes represent a win for free speech or a capitulation to political pressure depends, as ever, on one’s point of view.
As tech companies and media outlets weigh their next moves, the legacy of these settlements will echo in boardrooms and courtrooms for years to come.
