London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

Watchdog group pushes Google, YouTube parent company for government censorship requests

Watchdog group pushes Google, YouTube parent company for government censorship requests

National Legal and Policy Center files shareholder resolution calling on Alphabet Inc. to disclose requests from federal entities to take down information

An ethics watchdog is using shareholder activism to try to pry information about whether the Biden administration has been essentially outsourcing censorship to Google and YouTube.

"We have filed a proposal for consideration by the shareholders to require Alphabet to produce a report showing if anyone from the government asked them to remove content," Peter Flaherty, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, told FOX Business.

Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, Oct. 28, 2021.


In January, the National Legal and Policy Center filed a shareholder resolution calling on Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google and YouTube, to disclose requests from the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal agencies or entities about taking down information.

The NLPC holds shares in Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube. Flaherty said he expects Alphabet will ask the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to omit the resolution from consideration by its shareholders. He said it’s clearly in the public interest to know if "the government is compelling censorship" on two of the most widely used venues on the Internet.


Last July, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the administration is trying to fight misinformation about COVID-19 online.

"We are in regular touch with these social media platforms, and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff, but also members of our COVID-19 team, given, as Dr. [Vivek] Murthy conveyed, this is a big issue of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic," Psaki told reporters at the time.

Joe Rogan 


This month, Psaki, when taking a question about the popular podcast host Joe Rogan, pressed Spotify and tech companies to do more to combat "misinformation" about COVID-19.

The chances of success for shareholder resolutions are often slim, but the matter can stir public pressure for a corporation. However, left-leaning groups have successfully used such resolutions to force such matters as carbon disclosure and board diversity.

"The shareholders request that Alphabet Inc. … provide a report, published on the company’s website and updated semi-annually – and omitting proprietary information and at reasonable cost – that specifies the company’s policy in responding to requests to remove or take down material from its platforms by the Executive Office of the President, Centers for Disease Control, or any other agency or entity of the United States Government," the NLPC’s shareholder’s resolution says.

The resolution continues: "Shareholders need to know whether the company is cooperating with government officials engaged in unconstitutional censorship, opening the company to liability claims by victims. Shareholders also need to know whether the company is failing to disclose these potential liabilities as material risks in its public filings."

YouTube app and YouTube Kids app are displayed on an iPhone in New York.


Alphabet did not respond to numerous inquiries for this story.

The NLPC resolution cites a Supreme Court 1963 ruling in the case of Bantam Books, Inc. vs. Sullivan "that private entities may not engage in suppression of speech at the behest of government, as it has the same effect as direct government censorship." The case was about a state law in Rhode Island that empowered a commission to advise publishers and distributors of books about the material it deemed unsuitable for young readers. Book distributors removed books from circulation rather than face sanctions.

Though not mentioned in the resolution, the 1999 Supreme Court ruling in Hanlon v. Berger has been cited as a relevant case on media and government entanglement regarding private actors. The question before the court was whether federal agents could violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure by allowing the news media to accompany and observe the execution of a search warrant. The justices ruled "police violate the Fourth Amendment rights of homeowners when they allow members of the media to accompany them during the execution of a warrant in their home." CNN – whose crew was doing a ride-along with U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents – was still a defendant and settled the matter out of court in 2001.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Prison Officer Sentenced for Inappropriate Conduct with Inmate
Good News: Senate Confirms Kash Patel as FBI Director
Officials from the U.S. and Hungary Engage in Talks on Economic Collaboration and Sanctions Strategy
James Bond Franchise Transitions to Amazon MGM Studios
Technology Giants Ramp Up Lobbying Initiatives Against Strict EU Regulations
Alibaba Exceeds Quarterly Projections Fueled by Growth in Cloud and AI
Tequila Sector Faces Surplus Crisis as Agave Prices Dive Sharply
Residents of Flintshire Mobile Home Park Grapple with Maintenance Issues and Uncertain Future
Ronan Keating Criticizes Irish Justice System Following Fatal Crash Involving His Brother
Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat Restaurant Faces Unprecedented Theft
Israeli Family Mourns Loss of Peace Advocate Oded Lifschitz as Body Returned from Gaza
Former UK Defense Chief Calls for Enhanced European Support for Ukraine
Pope Francis Admitted to Hospital in Rome Amid Rising Succession Speculation
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, at the age of 83, Declares His Retirement.
Whistleblower Reveals Whitehall’s Focus on Kabul Animal Airlift Amid Crisis
Politicians Who Deliberately Lie Could Face Removal from Office in Wales
Scottish Labour Faces Challenges Ahead of 2026 Holyrood Elections
Leftwing Activists Less Likely to Work with Political Rivals, Study Finds
Boris Johnson to Host 'An Evening with Boris Johnson' at Edinburgh's Usher Hall
Planned Change in British Citizenship Rules Faces First Legal Challenge
Northumberland Postal Worker Sentenced for Sexual Assaults During Deliveries
British Journalist Missing in Brazil for 11 Days
Tesco Fixes Website Glitch That Disrupted Online Grocery Orders
Amnesty International Critiques UK's Predictive Policing Practices
Burglar Jailed After Falling into Home-Made Trap in Blyth
Sellafield Nuclear Site Exits Special Measures for Physical Security Amid Ongoing Cybersecurity Concerns
Avian Influenza Impact on Seals in Norfolk: Four Deaths Confirmed
First Arrest Under Scotland's Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Law Amidst International Controversy
Meghan Markle Rebrands Lifestyle Venture as 'As Ever' Ahead of Netflix Series Launch
Inter-Island Ferry Services Between Guernsey and Jersey Set to Expand
Significant Proportion of Cancer Patients in England and Wales Not Receiving Recommended Treatments
Final Consultation Launched for Vyrnwy Frankton Power Line Project
Drug Misuse Deaths in Scotland Rise by 12% in 2023
Failed £100 Million Cocaine Smuggling Operation in the Scottish Highlands
Central Cee Equals MOBO Awards Record; Bashy and Ayra Starr Among Top Honorees
EastEnders: Four Decades of Challenging Social Norms
Jonathan Bailey Channels 'Succession' in Bold Richard II Performance
Northern Ireland's First Astronaut Engages in Rigorous Spacewalk Training
Former Postman Sentenced for Series of Sexual Offences in Northumberland
Record Surge in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Across the UK in 2024
Omagh Bombing Inquiry Concludes Commemorative Hearings with Survivor Testimonies
UK Government Introduces 'Ronan's Law' to Combat Online Knife Sales to Minors
Metal Detectorists Unearth 15th-Century Coin Hoard in Scottish Borders
Woman Charged in 1978 Death of Five-Year-Old Girl in South London
Expanding Sinkhole in Godstone, Surrey, Forces Evacuations and Road Closures
Bangor University Announces Plans to Cut 200 Jobs Amid £15 Million Savings Target
British Journalist Charlotte Peet Reported Missing in Brazil
UK Inflation Rises to 3% in January Amid Higher Food Prices and School Fees
Starmer Defends Zelensky Amidst Trump's 'Dictator' Allegation
Zelensky Calls on World Leaders to Back Peace Efforts in Light of Strains with Trump
×