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31m ago

Google Tells House It Will Offer Reinstatement Opportunities for YouTube Channels Banned Under Retired COVID and Election Rules

The move responds to a GOP-led inquiry into alleged jawboning by the Biden White House.

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Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., at Station F during the AI Action Summit in Paris, France, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. France's president Emmanuel Macron said foreign and domestic companies will invest a total of 109 billion in artificial intelligence projects in France, marking a push to position the country as a competitive hub for AI development. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

Overview

  • Alphabet informed the House Judiciary Committee that creators terminated for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect will be eligible to rejoin YouTube.
  • The company’s letter says senior Biden administration officials repeatedly pressed Alphabet to remove user content about COVID-19 that did not violate platform policies.
  • High-profile conservatives including Dan Bongino, Sebastian Gorka and Steve Bannon were previously removed for COVID-19 or election-related content and could be affected by the change.
  • Alphabet’s chief counsel Daniel Donovan told the committee that YouTube never prohibited discussion of COVID-19 origins.
  • YouTube stated it does not use outside fact-checkers and will not empower fact-checkers to label or act on content on the platform.