YouTube may reinstate channels banned for spreading covid and election misinformation

Channels once banned by YouTube for spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic or the 2020 election may soon have the opportunity to get their channels back, in a decision transparently courting "conservative voices."

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, has sent a letter via counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in which it alleges the company was pressured by the Biden administration to take down misinformation on YouTube related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not violate the company's existing policies at the time. It now describes the Biden administration's actions as "unacceptable and wrong."

It also informed the committee that YouTube would be offering a path to reinstatement for creators whose channels were banned for repeatedly violating community guidelines on election-integrity-related content, as well as for COVID-19-related content. The guidelines under which those bans were carried out were removed by ...