- Back in September, Alphabet blamed YouTube censorship policies on pressure from the Biden administration.
- Numerous YouTube executives have given testimony that directly rebuts that claim.
- Now Committee on the Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin is demanding answers.
The past ten months have got to be the start of one of the most embarrassing years for tech heavyweights in recent memory. One after the other, firms like Apple, Meta, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, and of course, Google, have been prostrating themselves before a government administration they’d previously butted heads with. But in 2025, acquiescence is the name of the game, and rather than bracing for another four years of conflict, they’ve instead been kissing the ring.
A few weeks back, that extended to YouTube performing a massive about-face on the necessary steps it had taken to ban some of the worst voices on its platform, spreading lies, hate, and disinformation — instead opening the door to restore their access. That move was telegraphed in late September when Alphabet legal counsel submitted a letter to the House Committee on the Judiciary, blaming COVID-era YouTube moderation policies on pressure the company had received from the Biden administration.