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After 60 Minutes Pressure, Will YouTube Allow Free Speech?

Stahl opened the episode by saying that the internets biggest video platform has come under increasing scrutiny, accused of propagating white supremacy, peddling conspiracy theories, and profiting from it all, setting the tone for an intense interview.

Narrating for the segment, Stahl then proclaimed that the private sector is not legally beholden to the First Amendment.

Stahl summarized YouTube's policy, stating that, videos are allowed as long as they dont cause harm, but her definition of harm can seem narrow.

60 Minutes Overtimefilmed a segment that same day about section 230s protections of tech companies from the consequences of users posts. However, she clarified by explaining her companys current stance on hate, stating, Just to be clear, because you've asked me so many questions about hate, that's not necessarily something that we're getting any legislation about.

After being unclear regarding why these channels were removed, YouTube mysteriously reinstated some of these deplatformed channels the next day, while leaving others offline.

YouTube even reportedly banned a retired Navy SEAL, retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Don Shipley, who used his channel to expose Covington activist Nathan Phillips as being a refrigerator mechanic for the USMC rather than a Recon Ranger who fought in Vietnam, as the media formerly reported.

More recently, it became public that The Heritage Foundation had been sparring behind closed doors with the video hosting platform regarding a video that was taken down from The Daily Signals channel.

One of the rules stated that YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google accounts access to all or part of the Service if YouTube believes, in its sole discretion, that provision of the Service to you is no longer commercially viable.

The MRC is a research and education organization operating under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions to the MRC are tax-deductible.

Original article
Author: NewsBusters

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NewsBusters has recently written 8 articles on similar topics including :
  1. "Sources claim that the Democratic National Committee ("DNC") directly lobbied Facebook to police the platform for malicious actors and disinformation from politicians.The DNC CEO Seema Nanda reportedly wrote the Nov. 21 letter to Facebook to raise concerns about the company's ability to catch online trolls and in hopes that the company would change its political ad policy, according to CNN. One excerpt of the letter reportedly obtained by CNN appeared to condemn Facebooks free speech policy towards political campaign ads and warned that Facebooks ad targeting a capabilities were a dangerous power in the hands of bad actors". (December 14, 2019)
  2. "After taking a stand for free speech on several occasions, is Facebook now backsliding? Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to take a pro-free speech stand and allowed political ads without fact-checking as early as October 2019, and amidst pressure from the left, the Big Tech CEO has even doubled down on his pro-free speech remarks. But according to sources speaking to The Washington Post, Facebook has weighed whether to label political ads to indicate they have not been fact-checked, rather than vetting what candidates say, one of a series of proposals the company has floated leading up to the 2020 election". (December 14, 2019)
  3. "The liberal media likes to hype that a lack of social media censorship and free speech online are ruining our democracy. But podcast host Joe Rogan has a different take. The host of the Joe Rogan Experience Joe Rogan told Democratic Party presidential primary candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) on the Nov. 26 episode that Big Tech companies are interfering with democracy. And Gabbard, who is suing Google for $50 million and accused the platform of suspending her campaigns advertising account at a critical period after a Democratic presidential primary debate, ostensibly agreed". (December 14, 2019)
  4. "Want to be a successful YouTuber? Better bow down to diversity and inclusion demands and stop with your unconscious bias. YouTube released a video blog Create Inclusive Videos to Reach More Viewers via its YouTube Creators channel back in November proposing that if creators wish to be viable and successful on the platform, they need to pay up with some inclusion and diversity. The host and YouTube partner, Dr. Knatokie Ford, introduced herself as the Founder and CEO of Fly Sci Enterprise -- an education and media consulting firm focused on leveraging the power of storytelling to promote social change". (January 10, 2020)
  5. "One of the top YouTube creators, PewDiePie, warned that the site is under threat from the very people who run it. PewDiePie addressed questions from his fans in a Dec 28 video and questioned the future of the entire platform and its relationship with its creators. Its not impossible but it doesnt seem that likely that YouTube is just gonna be the top website forever he mused. He later that the platform has alienated its creators with anti-YouTuber decisions that its gonna take them a lot to come back to a better point with the community". (December 30, 2019)
  6. "Will Facebooks new oversight board be the platform to ensure free speech or a Big Tech kangaroo court? The sites in-house newsroom posted a developer blog on Jan 28 which announced the platforms upcoming oversight board. While its actual members will be chosen and announced [i]n the coming months, Facebook staff did reveal that the first Director of Oversight Board Administration will be Thomas Hughes. Hughes was described as the former Executive Director for Article 19, an international non-governmental organization with a focus on freedom of expression and digital rights who will lead the boards administrative staff". (February 6, 2020)
  7. "A former Facebook employee says that social media companies owe it to democracy to increase restrictions on Facebooks political advertising and fix the mess they allegedly created. Facebooks former government and politics client partner Clare ODonoghue Veliki wrote an article for The Guardian on Dec. 6 on how to fix social medias political ads problem". (December 14, 2019)
  8. "Facebook has taken some free speech stances that drew heavy criticism from fellow Big Tech companies, liberal commentators, and now the Democratic primary frontrunner. Former vice-president Joe Biden told The New York Times editorial board that Section 230 should be revoked, immediately for Big Tech companies. The Times called that provision pretty foundational to the internet. Biden spoke with The Times editorial board as it tried to determine which candidate to endorse as an organization. In the 80-minute discussion, Biden hammered Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and threatened to repeal the legislation that was intended to protect free speech on the internet". (January 17, 2020)
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