Google-owned YouTube plans to allow creators whose channels were previously blocked for spreading misinformation about Covid-19 or the election to apply for reinstatement. This marks a departure from the lifetime ban policy that has been in place for several years, CNBC reports.
As stated in a letter from Alphabet lawyer Daniel Donovan to Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the US Congress, the new program will work in a pilot format and will cover a limited group of authors, including those whose channels were removed under the rules that have already expired.
The policy change comes amid pressure from Republicans to demand that tech companies lift the Biden administration’s time limits on content about vaccines and the election. In March, Congressman Jordan even called out Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, accusing YouTube of being “complicit in government censorship.
Recall that in 2021, YouTube committed to removing videos with false claims about vaccines, and during the pandemic, the company was under direct pressure from officials. Donovan called it “unacceptable and wrong.
In December 2024, the platform canceled separate rules regarding Covid-disinformation. Meanwhile, YouTube has said it will not outsource its fact-checking to third-party organizations, but will continue to add context to videos. A similar step was taken by Meta, which stopped the fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram.
