Democrats raise questions about YouTube settlement

by Julia Shapero - 10/15/25 6:24 PM ET

FILE - This March 20, 2018, file photo shows the YouTube app on an iPad in Baltimore. YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, including requiring creators to reveal whether they've used generative artificial intelligence to make realistic looking videos. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) — FILE – YouTube app on an iPad. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Technology

The Big Story

Democrats raise questions about YouTube settlement

Several Senate Democrats are pressing Google and YouTube for answers about their decision to settle a lawsuit with President Trump over YouTube’s suspension of his account in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a Wednesday letter to Google and YouTube executives, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) raised concerns about how the settlement came about amid ongoing antitrust litigation.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle the lawsuit late last month, with $22 million going toward Trump. The president has directed that the funds be used for the construction of the White House State Ballroom.

The senators underscored that the U.S. government has antitrust cases pending against Google.

Shortly after a federal judge declined to order a breakup of the search giant in early September, Google CEO Sundar Pichai joined Trump for a dinner at the White House with other tech leaders, where he touted “constructive dialogue” with the administration.

“The public deserves to know what ‘constructive dialogue’ the Trump administration and Google had, given that Google and the Trump administration are opposing parties in the antitrust case, and whether this dialogue was in any way connected to YouTube’s settlement with President Trump,” the senators wrote Wednesday.

“Specifically, 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,” they continued.

Check out the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, I’m Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:

Group including Nvidia, BlackRock buying Aligned Data Centers in deal worth about $40 billion

A group including BlackRock, Nvidia and Microsoft is buying Aligned Data Centers in an approximately $40 billion deal in an effort to expand next-generation cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The acquisition comes amid a flurry of deals in recent months involving top AI developers that are flooding the booming AI sector with resources and money, and addressing resources — such as electricity and infrastructure …

Full Story

Waymo plans to bring its driverless taxis to London in 2026

LONDON (AP) — Robotaxi pioneer Waymo plans to expand to London next year, marking the company’s latest step in rolling out its driverless ride service internationally. Waymo said Wednesday that it will start testing its self-driving cars on London streets in the coming weeks — with a human “safety driver” behind the wheel — as it seeks to win government approval for its services. In a blog post, Waymo said it will “lay the …

Full Story

Walmart, OpenAI team up for ChatGPT shopping tool

Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to allow customers to shop through ChatGPT, the retail giant announced Tuesday. “For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change,” Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement. “There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalized and contextual,” he added. …

Full Story

The Refresh

News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:

Meta commits $1.5 billion for data center in Texas (Reuters)
Nscale inks massive AI infrastructure deal with Microsoft (TechCrunch)

Crypto Corner

Crypto-focused bank scores conditional regulatory approval

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Wednesday conditionally approved the charter for a new crypto-focused bank.

Erebor Bank, tied to Anduril cofounder Palmer Luckey, received “preliminary conditional approval” from the financial regulator.

“I am committed to a dynamic and diverse federal banking system, and our decision today is a first but important step in living up to that commitment,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a statement.

“Today’s decision is also proof that the OCC under my leadership does not impose blanket barriers to banks that want to engage in digital asset activities,” he added.

In its application, the bank said it plans to focus on tech companies and “ultra-high-net-worth” individuals that use virtual currencies, in addition to holding “non-asset backed virtual currencies” on its balance sheet.