Democrat lawmakers are demanding that Big Tech giant Alphabet Inc. restores the election censorship policy on its video streaming platform YouTube. YouTube recently made changes to its controversial election “misinformation” policy.
The Big Tech company has decided to slacken its policy reins, no longer acting as the all-mighty censor against videos questioning the sanctity of the 2020 presidential election.
However, the move has outraged Democrats in the countdown to the presidential race next year.
The fury emanated from the news that YouTube has changed the policy that has been criticized for unfairly targetting conservatives and benefitting Democrats.
The revelation, made through an announcement from YouTube, was met with the usual complaints from four high-profile Democrats of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Among the voices was that of Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ).
Along with his cohorts, Pallone denounced YouTube’s maneuver and demanded the streaming platform retracts this new stance.
In a letter, the lawmakers articulated their dissent.
“While you claim that taking such action is ‘core to a functioning democratic society,’ we emphatically disagree,” they wrote.
They lambasted the policy relaxation as perilous and blasted it as an attack against “American democracy.”
The Democrats are pressing YouTube to review this “harmful policy decision.”
YouTube’s silent watch was palpable as a spokesperson offered no rejoinder to the avalanche of criticism.
Dissecting the June 2nd announcement, YouTube’s reversal appears to be rooted in an introspective contemplation of its policy’s past efficacy and consequences.
After purging tens of thousands of videos, and a whole election cycle within its purview, the platform seems to have had an awakening.
Perhaps censoring conservative content isn’t good after all, they suggest, hopefully realizing that they have been on the wrong side of history all along.
YouTube believes the policy, initially started as a bulwark against “election denialism,” might inadvertently muzzle political speech without significantly stymieing the risk of alleged violence.
On the other hand, they most likely realized that one-sided censorship is bad for business, just as getting “woke” ultimately leads to going broke.
Nevertheless, Democrats rebuked YouTube’s newfound stance as perilous.
They are claiming that content that questions the legitimacy of recent elections has already wreaked havoc upon “democracy.”
However, they fail to explain how free speech is antithetical to democracy.
