October 13, 2021Mr. Sundar PichaiCEO, Alphabet, Inc.1600 Amphitheatre ParkwayMountain View, CA 94043Dear Mr. Pichai,I write to express my deep concern at your company’s recent de-platforming of the AmericanPrinciples Project’s (“APP”) YouTube channel. APP has routinely pointed out Google’s abusive practices and this decision appears to be designed to silence an organization that has spoken outagainst Google’s censorship and anticompetitive practices. According to press accounts, APPreceived an email from YouTube notifying the organization that its page was shut down.YouTube did not provide a reason for the move or explain which of its guidelines APP broke.This latest example of Google’s arbitrary and capricious enforcement of its “CommunityGuidelines” highlights a pattern of enforcement that appears to be specifically aimed atconservatives. Google and YouTube are the number 1 and number 2 visited sites on the Internet,respectively. Being de-platformed by YouTube or de-indexed from Google’s search results hascatastrophic consequences for the affected organization and the organizations and individualsincreasingly subject to these tactics appear to be affiliated with Republican and conservative points of view.For example, earlier this year, YouTube removed numerous videos posted by Sky NewsAustralia – a conservative news outlet – for purportedly violating YouTube’s policy on COVIDmisinformation.
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Meanwhile, several videos with similarcontent published by the news outletwere left on the platform. In other instances, YouTube censored a video posted by Rep. NicoleMalliotakis in which she describes her objections to vaccine mandates.
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According to YouTube’scensors, her arguments violated YouTube’s rules on medical misinformation. However, when sheobjected, the video was reinstated without any explanation about why it was flagged for removalor why it was suddenly in compliance with YouTube’s Guidelines. Just days after Rep.Malliotakis’ video was removed, YouTube censored Sen. Rand Paul for publishing a videocontaining comments dissenting from the executive branch’s policies on mask-wearing.
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Josh Taylor, “Sky News Australia purges several videosfrom YouTube after ban over Covid misinformation,”
TheGuardian
, August 3, 2021,https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/04/sky-news-australia-purgesseveral-videos-from-youtube-after-ban-over-covid-misinformation.
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Nicole Malliotakis, “Big Tech Acts Like Big Brother,”
Wall Street Journal
, August 15, 2021,https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-tech-youtube-google-de-blasio-nyc-vaccine-passport-covid-19-
censorship-free-speech-11629044629.
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Nick Niedzwiadek, “Rand Paul cut off from YouTubefor a week following criticism of face masks,”
POLITICO
,August 11, 2021,https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/11/rand-paul-youtube-ban-face-masks-503742.
Earlier this year, YouTube removed a video of a panel convened by Florida Governor RonDeSantis featuring medical experts from Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford discussing the U.S.government’s overreaching response to COVID.
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Google’s decision to suspend APP’s YouTube account appears to be another example of YouTube targeting a conservative organization. However, this case appears to be particularly pernicious because it appears your company may have also been motivated by a desire to silenceits opponents and shut down one of the few organizations dedicated to exposing Google’sabusive practices.
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I understand that APP was re-instated but I remain very concerned that Google is leveraging itsmarket power to silence its critics and those who hold dissimilar political or social views.Therefore, I respectfully ask that you provide answers to the following questions:1. Who made the decision to suspend APP’s account?2. What specific community guideline did APP violate?3. What are the specific procedures Google and YouTube follow when determining whether an account should be suspended?Sincerely,Ken Buck Member of Congress
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Meryl Kornfield, “YouTube pulls video of DeSantispanel discussion urging no masks for children,”
TheWashington Post
, April 9, 2021,https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/04/09/desantisyoutube-coronavirus/.
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American Principles Project, “APP Launches OnlineTool to Track Big Tech’s Political Influence,”
American Principles Project
, July 19, 2021,https://americanprinciplesproject.org/media/app-launches-online-tooltrack-big-tech-political-influence/.