Security News > 2020 > February > Google has right to censor conservative nonprofit on YouTube
Thus did the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismiss a top right-wing content creator's allegation that Google had violated its First Amendment rights by tagging dozens of its videos on abortion, gun rights, Islam and terrorism with its Restricted Mode and demonetizing them so the nonprofit can't make money from advertising.
It's best known for its many 5-minute videos, some of which, starting in 2016, Google dubbed Restricted, including videos about the 10 Commandments, whether police were racist, and Israel's legal founding.
The suit claimed that Google, with its outsize power to moderate user content on YouTube, was using that power to censor conservative viewpoints.
Prager's suit argued that Google's opposition to conservative political views led to its content being flagged, in violation of First Amendment protection of free speech.
Donald Verrilli, a US solicitor general under President Barack Obama, wrote on behalf of the Computer & Communications Industry Association in support of Google and YouTube, saying in a legal brief that courts have consistently found private companies such as Google, YouTube and Facebook don't qualify as state actors for First Amendment purposes.