Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, has written a letter to Google and Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai urging him to suppress “dangerous climate misinformation on YouTube.”
Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube, has yet to offer a comment.
The letter makes a number of demands for censorship from YouTube, calling on the video-sharing platform to:
- Stop promoting climate denial and climate disinformation videos by removing them immediately from the platform’s recommendation algorithm;
- Add ‘climate misinformation’ to the platform’s list of borderline content;
- Stop monetizing videos that promote harmful misinformation and falsehoods and about the causes and effects of the climate crisis;
- Take steps to correct the record for millions of users who have been exposed to climate misinformation on YouTube.
Unlike European countries, progressives in the U.S. are theoretically prevented by the First Amendment from passing laws against lawful content on tech platforms.
However, this does not stop politicians like Rep. Castor from making censorship demands of tech companies.
Rep. Castor’s letter notes that YouTube has responded to pressure about “harmful misinformation” in the recent past, noting that the platform recently “removed economic incentives for channels that promoted anti-vaccination views.”
“I urge you to ensure that YouTube is not incentivizing climate misinformation content on its platform, or effectively giving free advertising to those who seek to protect polluters and their profits at the expense of the American people,” wrote Rep. Castor.
The letter gives Pichai a deadline of February 7 to respond to the committee to “describe any efforts” his company plans to take “to address these important issues.”
It is not against YouTube’s community guidelines to post false information unless it crosses the line into scams.
Advertisers are already allowed to opt-out of placing their ads on videos related to climate change if they wish, and are also able to create personalized lists of channels that they do not wish to run their ads on.
Rep. Castor’s demands, if followed, would, therefore, end up removing choice from advertisers.
Read more at Breitbart
George Orwell wrote about progressives in 1984.
This, of course, would be a clear violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. This woman’s constituents should be concerned about this, and she should not be reelected.
In my experience liberals don’t think that the Bill of Right should apply in cases where it undermines one of their “worth causes.” In 1971 I argued with a woman who believed that it should be possible to pass laws forcing churches to change their doctrines.
If I had been in hibernation for the past 70 years and then learned nothing other than the action of the climate change advocates, it would be so obvious that it was a fraud. The effort at censorship is a big red flag. It is an admission that their side of the argument can’t stand up to a free exchange of ideas. Altering past and current data is another red flag. This is an admission that the data doesn’t support their cause. Basing trillions of dollars of spending on the predictions of climate models that don’t work also shows that something is very wrong. Finally, the existence of many agendas that are hitching hiking on the climate change movement is also indication that something is wrong.
David, good points. I actually was encouraged by the Clintel efforts that were covered yesterday on this website. They have valid points, supported by creditable/qualified scientists and they are challenging the IPCC “dogma.” I hope they gain traction and force an international climate debate. Once these extremists are out in the open & fully exposed, they cannot support their contentions & radical policy prescriptions based on the facts & evidence. Time to start have some ADULT conversation about energy & environmental policy…
This is the mark of true authoritarian rule, people have to stand up against this kind of anti-constitutional censorship!
Tyranny can thrive only in the absence of free speech.
Just when it seemd that Communism might actually die, we find that it is festering like a bad infection within the borders of the USA. How could this possibly happen?! Obviously, there are those within every county who seek absolute power and blaming bad weather on other people appears to be a popular way to go about it. They seek to squelch the truth because they know the climate crisis is a total creeping lie.
‘chair of the house select committee on the Climate Crisis.’
How on Earth did such a title come to be?
We have a little fascist Castro from Tampa, Florida .25% of the population in her district are living below poverty line. But morons keep voting for her.
Democrat party………..the party of lies
Is the father of the party the ” father of lies ” ?
Kind of stupid of Dems to send this letter, because Google was already censoring.
Will Google rebel when the government wants them to censor?
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
― George Orwell, 1984
Let’s consider the true disinformation about climate change. This includes hurricanes, draughts, floods, and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Also not true is adverse impact on agriculture. Rising sea levels is another. We are warming, but it is disinformation to say we are headed for 3 degrees C by 2100. It is also disinformation to say that carbon dioxide has a significant impact on the earth’s temperature. How about censoring these claims.
Of course the reason climate activists are calling for censorship and have been working for many years to silence those who oppose them is that the facts are not on their side. This includes the low correlation between carbon dioxide levels and the earth’s temperature, the significant correlation of solar forcing, and even the IPCC acknowledges that extreme weather events are not becoming more common.
Well said David, thank you.
Has anyone preempted any aversive action by Google by pointing out to them that the Climate Change Debate has nothing to do with the true History of the Earth’s Climate, but all to do with the Democrats seizing power in America and promoting anarchist communism throughout the whole world?
Google search algorithms and climate models have much in common. For one thing, their creators refuse to admit bias. They show no enthusiasm for balance.
“Take steps to correct the record for millions of users who have been exposed to climate misinformation on YouTube.”
Reeducation camps coming soon… financed by the carbon tax I guess !
The Dem’s have been using false accusations to deflect attention away from their own crimes and misdemeanours . When will they start accusing the GOP of censorship ? Soon, I expect.
the Stupid Jackass Party dont want any skeptics nor do they tollerate any pro life types(Ecsept for convicted murderers)and they oppose the 2nd Amendment the DNC is the enemy of the American People
Well, this is proof that these lying greens are promoting a hoax with their climate lies..
Had these morons lived in the dark ages they would have suppressed any opinions that questioned or opposed burning heretics at the stake. It’s the burners that should be opposed or at least questioned .
The earth is flat and the universe rotates around the earth.
Settled science of the day. Any other theories must be severely punished.