YouTube Nukes Another Conservative Group’s Account, Reverses After Big Backlash
YouTube reinstated the page for a conservative family group in Washington, D.C. after briefly suspending it on Monday, provoking backlash from Republicans.
The company said in a statement that the group, the American Principles Project, was suspended for sharing a video featuring former White House adviser Steve Bannon, whose War Room podcast YouTube banned without explanation in January.
The group’s president, Terry Schilling, attributed the move to a video his group shared in July promoting its “Big Family” project, which is centered on traditional values. “Hey looks like @Google shutdown @approject’s @YouTube page over this video,” Shilling wrote on Twitter. “Pretty obnoxious [to be honest]. No warning, no explanation, nothing. These people are evil.”
Hey looks like @Google shutdown @approject’s @YouTube page over this video. Pretty obnoxious tbh. No warning, no explanation, nothing. These people are evil. https://t.co/kbfHSEiIJF
— Terry Schilling ?? (@Schilling1776) October 11, 2021
YouTube reinstated the account later in the day, but not before drawing attention from leading Republicans in Washington. “Google is abusing its monopolistic market share to ban a mainstream pro-family group from posting videos,” Sen. Tom Cotton(R-AR) wrote in a Tuesday Twitter missive. “Just one more reason why Congress needs to—and will—pass legislation cracking down on monopolies like @Google.”
“Google purchased YouTube to crush competition and protect their monopoly,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) opined, noting that he was working with Cotton on legislation aimed at treating Google like a monopoly.
.@Google is abusing its monopolistic market share to ban a mainstream pro-family group from posting videos.
Just one more reason why Congress needs to—and will—pass legislation cracking down on monopolies like @Google. https://t.co/FKy56PMmj1
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) October 12, 2021
Big Tech companies are censoring anyone for any reason. The @approject was kicked off YouTube without notice.
If you’re a conservative voice, you could be next.
These are no longer free-speech platforms. https://t.co/4etxZpkm2J
— Congresswoman Tenney (@RepTenney) October 12, 2021
The Google-owned company has banned or suspended a host of prominent Republicans this year. It suspended an account for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in August, and last month, banned a channel belonging to his father, the 86-year-old former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).
In a statement, YouTube took a defiant tone about its decision to suspend APP. “We enforce our Terms of Service equally for everyone, and terminated the American Principles Project (APP) channel for reuploading content from a previously terminated channel,” the company said. “Upon review of their appeal, we have reinstated the APP channel and issued a warning to the channel, in accordance with our three-strikes system. We’re working with APP to explain our policies so they can make the best decisions for their channel moving forward.”
