YouTube is set to undo one of its most contentious policies by offering previously suspended accounts an opportunity to apply for reinstatement. The initiative marks a dramatic policy change for the Google-owned site, which had considered breaches related to COVID-19 and election disinformation permanent.
Alphabet attorney Daniel Donovan revealed the change in a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), noting that YouTube's updated Community Guidelines now allow a broader range of content on COVID-19 and election integrity. This will render the old permanent-ban policy outdated.
Political Pressure and Free Speech Debate
Previously, channels flagged for spreading vaccine or election misinformation faced lifetime removal. Under the new pilot program, eligible creators whose accounts were terminated under those outdated rules can now apply for reinstatement.
The policy change comes as part of increasing Republican backlash against the tech industry for supposedly imposing Biden-era content moderation standards too zealously.
Rep. Jordan subpoenaed Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in March, alleging YouTube had been a "direct participant in the federal government's censorship regime."
Donovan's letter further observed that throughout the pandemic, senior Biden officials pushed YouTube to remove videos that didn't technically break its rules, something that YouTube now describes as "unacceptable and wrong."
High-Profile Banned Channels
A few of the most prominent bans under the old YouTube policy included channels associated with Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Though YouTube has not indicated that these particular accounts will be reinstated, their instances demonstrate the effect the new program may have.
YouTube said that the reinstatement process will be selective in nature and will cover only those creators impacted by now-ended policies. The company states it won't be dependent upon third-party fact-checkers to moderate content but will keep using context panels and information labels to give viewers more background information.
End of Stand-Alone COVID Rules
According to CNBC, YouTube formally discontinued its special COVID-19 misinformation policies in December 2024. The platform now handles pandemic-specific claims under its more comprehensive health misinformation policies instead.
Donovan reiterated that YouTube aims to balance free expression and user safety, keeping information panels and referring to third-party sources while not directly engaging in fact-checking itself.
As for some Redditors, what YouTube did was unacceptable.
"Is YouTube losing viewers? All their recent actions (including going to force AI into every corner of it), tell me they're seeing a drop and are scared about shares," a Reddit user said.
"I don't know for certain, but anecdotally, I'm hearing some content creators reporting smaller checks and a drop in viewer numbers. I have no clue how it works, though," another Redditor wrote.
"Woohoo! Let the propaganda flow!! These gates are gonna swing wide!" another user replied.
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