Google Denies Crackdown On Anti-Communist Content After Ted Cruz Accuses Company of ‘Censoring Americans’ On China’s Behalf

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Google on Tuesday denied that it was censoring YouTube content critical of China’s Communist Party, calling it an “error” in its “enforcement systems.”

“This appears to be an error in our enforcement systems and we are investigating,” company spokesman Farshad Shadloo said in a statement to Ben Smith of The New York Times. “These removals were not a result of a policy change.”

Palmer Luckey, the founder of virtual-reality platform Oculus VR, accused Google on Monday of censoring content on YouTube on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. “YouTube has deleted every comment I ever made about the Wumao (五毛), an internet propaganda division of the Chinese Communist Party. Who at Google decided to censor American comments on American videos hosted in America by an American platform that is already banned in China?” Luckey wrote.

The phrase translates to “50-cent party,” a derogatory reference to the Communist Party’s practice of using paid internet users to manipulate online discussion. Luckey added, “This appears to be a new global policy on YouTube, not directed at me specifically. Try saying anything negative about the 五毛, or even mentioning them at all. Your comment will last about 30 seconds and get deleted without warning or notice, CCP-censor style. To what end?”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) opined on the situation Tuesday morning, writing, “This is very disturbing. Why is Google/YouTube censoring Americans on behalf of the CCP? This is WRONG & Big Tech is drunk with power. The Sherman Act prohibits abusing monopoly power. DOJ needs to stop this NOW.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), weighed in shortly after Cruz. “I’d like to know the answer to this @Google,” Hawley wrote.

YouTube is blocked in China, so it isn’t clear what incentive the company has to censor content for Western users. Human rights activist Jennifer Zeng noted this month that YouTube’s filter was also deleting the comment “Gongfei,” or “Communist bandit,” within 15 seconds of users publishing it on the platform.

Google drew criticism in 2018 after The Intercept revealed the company developed a Chinese version of its search platform titled “Project Dragonfly,” which intended to appease Chinese authorities by censoring terms related to human rights, religion, and politics. Google told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019 the company had canceled the project.