It’s no secret that the biggest online speech platforms – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit – are hostile to conservatives, deplatforming some while suppressing others, and now YouTube has announced new, vague rules that they can “terminate your access” to posting video on the enormous site if they find you to be “no longer commercially viable.”
For a service that started as a way for anyone to post their own videos it is a worrisome development, since so much YouTube content is not “commercially viable.” The rules, set to take effect Dec. 10, actually provide YouTube and its owner, Google, with an excuse to take down any content they wish without stating any further reason.
In the section titled “Account Suspension & Termination” with the subheader “Terminations by YouTube for Service Changes,” the site will add:
“YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google account’s 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.”
Take the Christian Nation Pledge: “The United States IS a Christian Nation.“
This is basically saying that if YouTube isn’t making money off your account, the company can delete it. This language is not included in the platform’s current terms of service.
YouTube started sending emails last week to users notifying them about the site’s new terms of service. The email states that the update is a way to make its terms easier to understand. Yet the new addition to the terms wasn’t mentioned, and the wording was vague.
The broad terms appear to give YouTube the power to delete an account if it livestreams video that doesn’t pull in enough advertising revenue.
The terms also are worded to cover anyone who has an account, not just content creators. The language used can mean that a user who looks at lots of content but doesn’t necessarily monetize can also have their account deleted. These terms can easily be seen as YouTube granting itself the ability to remove users and channels that disseminate “hate speech,” which to large social media companies seems to mean content that is not politically progressive or has a conservative political or social bent
