Democrat lawmakers send letter to Google on YouTube's settlement with Donald Trump, say: Public deserves to know whether ...
A group of Democrat lawmakers is scrutinizing a $24.5 million settlement between YouTube and President Donald Trump, raising concerns about whether the deal was struck to secure favorable treatment in ongoing antitrust lawsuits against Google , YouTube’s parent company. In a letter addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) demanded details about the settlement negotiations, according to The Verge.
The settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit filed by Trump after YouTube suspended him from the platform. The Verge notes that the lawsuit’s legal basis was weak, as courts have consistently upheld social media companies’ rights to ban users. The lawmakers are questioning whether the payout, which includes $22 million allocated for a new White House ballroom, was intended to influence the Trump administration’s approach to Google’s antitrust cases.
“The public deserves to know whether YouTube’s settlement will influence the Trump Justice Department’s decision regarding whether to appeal and seek the stricter remedies DOJ had originally sought against Google,” the senators wrote, as quoted by the publication, warning that such an arrangement could violate federal anti-bribery laws and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
Google is currently embroiled in multiple antitrust lawsuits, including one concerning its ad tech monopoly, where the Department of Justice has pushed for a potential breakup, and another involving its search business, where milder remedies have been proposed. The Verge reports that the senators are concerned that YouTube’s settlement of a “legally dubious lawsuit” might be an attempt to avoid harsher penalties in these cases.
The letter follows an earlier inquiry in August, before the settlement was publicized, where the senators warned Google and YouTube against paying for favorable treatment. The companies responded, claiming there were “no discussions tying any potential settlement of the case to any official action or to any pending or potential future matters involving Alphabet or any of its affiliates,” according to the report. The lawmakers are now pressing to verify the accuracy of this statement.
YouTube is not alone in settling with Trump. The Verge notes that Paramount paid $16 million amid merger approval talks, while X and Meta settled similar lawsuits for approximately $10 million and $25 million, respectively. Senator Warren previously described Meta’s settlement as looking “like a bribe,” the news report said.
The scrutiny comes as Trump is set to host a fundraising dinner for the White House ballroom project , according to CBS News, further fueling concerns about the motivations behind these settlements.
The settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit filed by Trump after YouTube suspended him from the platform. The Verge notes that the lawsuit’s legal basis was weak, as courts have consistently upheld social media companies’ rights to ban users. The lawmakers are questioning whether the payout, which includes $22 million allocated for a new White House ballroom, was intended to influence the Trump administration’s approach to Google’s antitrust cases.
“The public deserves to know whether YouTube’s settlement will influence the Trump Justice Department’s decision regarding whether to appeal and seek the stricter remedies DOJ had originally sought against Google,” the senators wrote, as quoted by the publication, warning that such an arrangement could violate federal anti-bribery laws and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
Google is currently embroiled in multiple antitrust lawsuits, including one concerning its ad tech monopoly, where the Department of Justice has pushed for a potential breakup, and another involving its search business, where milder remedies have been proposed. The Verge reports that the senators are concerned that YouTube’s settlement of a “legally dubious lawsuit” might be an attempt to avoid harsher penalties in these cases.
The letter follows an earlier inquiry in August, before the settlement was publicized, where the senators warned Google and YouTube against paying for favorable treatment. The companies responded, claiming there were “no discussions tying any potential settlement of the case to any official action or to any pending or potential future matters involving Alphabet or any of its affiliates,” according to the report. The lawmakers are now pressing to verify the accuracy of this statement.
YouTube is not alone in settling with Trump. The Verge notes that Paramount paid $16 million amid merger approval talks, while X and Meta settled similar lawsuits for approximately $10 million and $25 million, respectively. Senator Warren previously described Meta’s settlement as looking “like a bribe,” the news report said.
The scrutiny comes as Trump is set to host a fundraising dinner for the White House ballroom project , according to CBS News, further fueling concerns about the motivations behind these settlements.
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