Sundar Pichai Next? Trump's Next Big Tech Payday Could Be From YouTube After Settling Lawsuits With Meta And X: 'Productive Discussions' Underway

Benzinga
2025.07.04 01:43
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Donald Trump is in settlement talks with YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., over a lawsuit alleging political censorship after his account was banned post-Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Following multimillion-dollar settlements with Meta and X, discussions are reportedly productive, with a delay in proceedings requested until Sept. 8. Alphabet's Class A and C shares saw slight declines in after-hours trading, but overall trends remain favorable for GOOGL.

Donald Trump has turned his attention to Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL as settlement talks progress in his lawsuit against YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, following multimillion-dollar payouts from Meta Platforms, Inc. META and X, formerly Twitter, over similar claims of political censorship.

What Happened: Trump sued YouTube, along with its CEO Sundar Pichai, in 2021 after the platform banned his account in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The lawsuit alleges that YouTube engaged in "impermissible censorship" under pressure from U.S. political leaders, violating Trump's First Amendment rights.

Court filings from late May reveal that both sides are now in "productive discussions" and requested a delay in proceedings until Sept. 8, reported The Hill.

Why It's Important: Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta paid $25 million and Elon Musk's X paid $10 million to settle similar lawsuits with Trump.

Earlier this week, Paramount Global PARA PARAA also agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a lawsuit brought by Trump regarding a "60 Minutes" interview featuring then–Vice President Kamala Harris.

However, the company did not offer an apology or acknowledge any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Price Action: Alphabet Inc.'s Class A shares slipped 0.017% in after-hours trading, and its Class C shares edged down 0.0055%, according to Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show a favorable trend for GOOGL across the short, medium and long term. Additional performance details can be found here.

Photo Courtesy: Joey Sussman on Shutterstock.com

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