YouTube was fined 100,000 euros (around $118,115) over the weekend in a German court for removing a video of a coronavirus lockdown protest in Switzerland.
After the Dresden Higher Regional Court in Germany ordered an injunction directing YouTube to restore the video in April 2020, the video platform ignored the ruling for nearly a month before complying on May 14, a “deliberate and serious violation,” the court found, according to free speech group Reclaim the Net. YouTube told the court the video needed to be removed because it violated the company’s “medical misinformation policy,” which YouTube has expanded since the outset of the pandemic to remove content that includes claims about COVID-19 vaccinations that contradict health authorities’ guidance. The court reportedly rejected this argument.
Sunday’s fine “appears to be the highest on record in Germany,” the group added.
SUSPENDED, BANNED, AND DELETED: CENSORSHIP WAR BETWEEN BIG TECH AND REPUBLICANS, IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“With the historically high fine, the Higher Regional Court makes it very clear that court decisions must be observed without restriction, regardless of whether YouTube assumes a violation of its guidelines or not,” Joachim Steinhoefel, the reported attorney for the operator of the channel that owned the video, said, according to a Google translation. The name of the YouTube channel was not readily apparent.
A spokesperson for YouTube said the company has “a responsibility to help connect our users with authoritative sources and fight misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“This is a decision in an individual case which we respect and will review accordingly,” the spokesperson added.
Representatives for the Dresden Court did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
The notion that Big Tech platforms have been censoring dissenting voices has made headlines since former President Donald Trump was deplatformed following the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill attack. Twitter, Facebook, and others said Trump’s words and actions preceding the attack incited violence and warranted removal.
While Trump’s Facebook account may be reinstated someday, the company’s independent Oversight Board announced in May that the ban would temporarily remain in place. On June 4, the board determined that the ban would remain in place for at least two years.
Trump has retaliated, filing lawsuits last Wednesday against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, demanding “an end to the shadow-banning, a stop to the silencing, and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing, and canceling that you know so well.”
“Through this lawsuit, we are standing up for the freedom of speech of all Americans — Republicans, Democrats, independents, everyone,” he said.
Trump, who has teased creating a social media site of his own, added that he might not return to the platforms even if he is allowed back on.
Facebook said it has received criticism from both the Left and the Right for its content moderation policies.
“While many Republicans think we should take one course, many Democrats think we should do the exact opposite. We’ve faced criticism from Republicans for being biased against conservatives and Democrats for not taking more steps to restrict the exact same content,” a spokesperson for Facebook said in an email to the Washington Examiner. “We have rules in place to protect free expression, and we will continue to apply them impartially.”
A bipartisan group in the House has made an attempt at reform, with Rep. David Cicilline, a Democrat, joining Republican Reps. Madison Cawthorn, Ken Buck, and Matt Gaetz, among others, to co-sponsor an antitrust package of five bills aimed at breaking up Big Tech companies.
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The legislative bundle was largely heralded for its efforts to diminish the corporations’ power, with one glaring flaw, according to Rep. Jim Jordan — it failed to address the question of censorship.
“Democrats: Don’t really want to break up #BigTech — Refuse to address tech’s censorship of conservatives. — Want to give President Biden more power to ‘fix’ the problem,” the Ohio Republican tweeted after the legislation was announced.
