YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to end the case brought by US president Donald Trump, who alleged the vid-streamer had infringed his freedom of speech.
The case stems from the events of January 6th, 2020, when supporters of the president stormed the US Capitol building and attempted to disrupt certification of the presidential election that Trump lost. YouTube, Meta, and Twitter all suspended Trump’s accounts after January 6th, because they felt the president might use their platforms to incite violence.
Once out of office, Trump sued all three. His case [PDF] against YouTube claimed the video outfit deprived him of the constitutional right to freedom of speech. Lawyers at the time pointed out Trump didn’t have a legal leg to stand on, because corporations are not required to guarantee or preserve free speech.
Meta and Twitter nonetheless settled their cases, and on Monday YouTube did likewise.
A court filing [PDF] states that the settlement is not “an admission of liability or fault on the part of the Defendants or their agents, servants, or employees, and is entered into by all Parties for the sole purpose of compromising disputed claims and avoiding the expenses and risks of further litigation.”
President Trump is a paper billionaire. Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, reported annual revenue of $350 billion for its last full financial year, and net income of $100 billion. YouTube alone generates revenue close to $10 billion each quarter.
The vid-streamer can therefore afford to litigate.
The risks of litigation are another matter, as the second Trump administration has seemingly looked favorably on companies engaged in activities that might require the federal government’s approval, and which resolve matters close to the president’s heart.
Google could certainly benefit from good relations with the administration, as it faces possible appeals against a recent antitrust judgment that left its monopolies intact, and seeks approval to build new datacenters to run AI workloads.
This settlement might help because Trump has directed one $22 million payment YouTube will make to the body overseeing his pet project – construction of a ballroom at the White House. Another $2.5 million payment will go to plaintiffs who joined the case and also felt YouTube infringed their rights.
YouTube has not commented on the matter at the time of writing. ®
Source: YouTube coughs up $24.5 million to make Trump case go away • The Register
Robin Edgar
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