YouTube to start bringing back the accounts of banned creators for disinformation

The creators of YouTube whose accounts were prohibited for having violated the previous policies against COVID-19 and the electoral disinformation will have the opportunity to join the platform, said Alphabet, the parent company of Youtube on Tuesday.

In a letter submitted in response to the assignments to appear from the Chamber’s Judicial Committee, the lawyers of the alphabet declared that the decision to bring back prohibited accounts reflected the company’s commitment to freedom of expression.

“Regardless of the political atmosphere, YouTube will continue to allow freedom of expression on his platform, in particular with regard to questions subject to a political debate,” said the letter, noting that a certain number of accounts have been launched from the platform between 2023 and 2024 for violation of disinformation rules that no longer exist. Now he said: “YouTube will offer all creators the opportunity to join the platform if the company has ended its channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and policies of integrity of the elections which are no longer in force.”

The company in its letter has also declared that it “values ​​conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have an in-depth scope and play an important role in civic discourse” and added that YouTube “recognizes that these creators are among those who shape today’s online consumption, the landing of” essential interviews “, giving viewers celebrities, business leaders, and more. “

This decision is the last of a recoil of moderation of the content of technological companies, which repressed false information during the pandemic and after the elections of 2020, but has since faced the pressure of President Trump and other preservatives who argue that they illegally smothered right -wing votes in the process.

This occurs while the CEOs of technology, including the CEO of Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, asked for a closer relationship with the Republican President, including by donations raised in his campaign and attending events in Washington.

YouTube in 2023 deleted its policy aimed at deleting the content that falsely claims the 2020 elections, or other American presidential elections, have been marred by “fraud, errors or seeds”. Fraud allegations in the 2020 elections were demystified.

The platform in 2024 also withdrew its autonomous restrictions from COVVI-19 content, making it possible to discuss various treatments for the disease. COVVI-19 disinformation is now a broader youtube medical disinformation policy.

Among the creators who have been prohibited from Youtube under the now expired policies, there are eminent conservative influencers, including Dan Bongino, who is now deputy director of the FBI. For people who earn money on social networks, access to monetization on YouTube can be important, which has earned them important sums thanks to advertising revenues.

The president of the Chamber’s Judicial Committee, Jim Jordan and other Congress Republicans, put pressure on technological companies to reverse the moderation of the content of the content created by former president Joe Biden and the Biden administration to unjustly manipulate his power over companies to erase the online speech.

In Tuesday’s letter, alphabet lawyers declared that senior Biden administration officials “had made repeated and sustained awareness” to force the company to withdraw YouTube videos linked to the pandemic which did not violate the company’s policies.

“It is unacceptable and false when a government, including the Biden administration, tries to dictate how the company moderates the content, and the company has always fought these efforts for reasons of the first amendment,” said the letter.

Meta-PDG Mark Zuckerberg also accused the Biden administration of putting pressure on employees to censor inappropriately during the COVVI-19 pandemic. Elon Musk, the owner of the social platform X, accused the FBI of illegally forcing Twitter before his mandate to remove a story on Hunter Biden.

The Supreme Court last year Reassured himself with the Biden administration in a dispute with states directed by the Republicans on the extent to which the federal government can go to combat controversial publications on social networks on subjects such as COVID-19 and electoral security.

Asked more information on the reintegration process, a YouTube spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comments.