"It's not exactly hard to find politically conservative content on YouTube, but the platform may soon skew even further to the right. YouTube parent Alphabet has confirmed that it will restore channels that were banned in recent years for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and elections. Alphabet says it values free expression and political debate, placing the blame for its previous moderation decisions on the Biden administration."
"For starters, Alphabet denies that its products and services are biased toward specific viewpoints and that it "appreciates the accountability" provided by the committee. The cloying missive goes on to explain that Google didn't really want to ban all those accounts, but Biden administration officials just kept asking. Now that the political tables have turned, Google is looking to dig itself out of this hole."
"According to Alphabet's version of events, misinformation such as telling people to drink bleach to cure COVID wasn't initially against its policies. However, Biden officials repeatedly asked YouTube to take action. YouTube banned COVID misinformation through 2024, one year longer than the crackdown on election conspiracy theories. Alphabet says that today, YouTube's rules permit a "wider range of content." In an apparent attempt to smooth things over with the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee, YouTube will restore the channels banned for COVID and election misinformation."
Alphabet confirmed that YouTube will restore channels that were banned in recent years for spreading COVID-19 and election misinformation. The company described the decision in a lengthy letter to Rep. Jim Jordan responding to House Judiciary Committee subpoenas. Alphabet denied product bias toward particular viewpoints and claimed that previous moderation actions were influenced by repeated requests from Biden administration officials. YouTube had banned COVID misinformation through 2024 and earlier cracked down on election conspiracy theories. Alphabet now states that YouTube rules permit a wider range of content and plans to reinstate prominent conservative creators previously removed.
Read at Ars Technica
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