Washington Free Beacon by Alana Goodman • January 8, 2022
Shareholders in Google and YouTube are pressing the tech giants to disclose any requests they have received from the Biden administration to scrub politically "problematic" information from the platforms, according to a copy of a shareholder proposal obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The National Legal and Policy Center, an ethics watchdog group that holds a voting stake in Google and YouTube's parent corporation Alphabet, submitted the shareholder proposal to the company this week, following a string of controversies over Google and YouTube's removal of videos that question the Biden administration's COVID-19 policies.
The proposed disclosure requirement could shed light on whether the administration has directed tech companies to remove information that it deems misleading, a scenario that raises concerns about government censorship. In July, the White House said it was "in regular touch" with social media platforms to discuss ways to combat "misinformation" online.
"The case for this kind of disclosure is double barreled. All citizens should be aware when the government engages in censorship, even if it is through a private-sector company, and shareholders of that company should know when they become a party to it," said NLPC chairman Peter Flaherty.
More:
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/shareholders-press-google-and-youtube-to-disclose-white-house-requests-to-scrub-covid-19-videos/
