By In a dramatic reversal, Google announced Tuesday that YouTube accounts previously banned for political speech will soon be eligible for reinstatement. The company also disclosed that it faced sustained pressure from the Biden administration to remove COVID-19 content, according to a document received by Fox News Digital and provided to the House Judiciary Committee.
The shift could reinstate high-profile figures, including former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, White House counterterrorism official Sebastian Gorka, and “War Room” podcast host Steve Bannon. A Google attorney stated, “Reflecting the Company’s commitment to free expression, YouTube will provide an opportunity for all creators to rejoin the platform if the company terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect.”
The document acknowledged government involvement, noting, “Senior Biden Administration officials, including White House officials, conducted repeated and sustained outreach to Alphabet and pressed the Company regarding certain user-generated content related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not violate its policies.” While Google emphasized that some removals stemmed from internal rules, those restrictions have since been relaxed.
Google underscored the importance of ideological diversity on the platform, declaring that YouTube “values conservative voices on its platform” and recognizes creators “have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse.” The company also distanced itself from Meta’s approach, confirming YouTube “will not empower fact-checkers to take action on or label content” on its site.
YouTube also:
-Admits the Biden Admin censorship pressure was “unacceptable and wrong”
-Confirms that the Biden Admin wanted Americans censored for speech that did not violate YouTube’s policies
-Details when YouTube began rolling back its censorship policies on political…
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) September 23, 2025
The announcement arrives as Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee continue probing Big Tech censorship of COVID-19, the 2020 election, and Hunter Biden. That inquiry parallels Murthy v. Missouri, where lower courts concluded the government pressured platforms into suppressing speech, though the Supreme Court dismissed the case on standing grounds.
The revelations highlight the broader controversy over “jawboning”—informal government pressure on private firms. The issue gained fresh urgency in recent weeks following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, after ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel made inflammatory remarks. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr signaled potential action, saying, “Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” in an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson.
Not one person in Hollywood cared about Google and YouTube censoring the right. Not one open letter, no protests, not one comment about the importance of “free speech” on social media.
Because they support censorship as long as it targets their political opponents pic.twitter.com/bd7DldPJp8
— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) September 23, 2025
Google also used the moment to criticize European regulations, blasting the EU’s Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act as measures that “place a disproportionate regulatory burden on American companies.” The firm pledged to stay “vigilant” against foreign rules it says could harm U.S. users.
A company spokesperson declined to comment beyond the document. The move marks Google’s most notable concession yet in the growing battle over tech censorship and government influence.
The reinstatement of banned YouTube accounts and Google’s acknowledgment of Biden administration pressure underscores the way many on the left see regulating speech they disagree with as a priority.
By dismantling policies tied to pandemic and election discourse, YouTube signaled a deliberate move to restore trust with conservative voices who long accused the platform of silencing dissent. “Fact-checker” driven censorship, once a hallmark of YouTube’s moderation, is now being abandoned—a shift that could reshape the fragile balance between oversight and open dialogue online.
The timing dovetails with a broader rollback of government overreach under Donald Trump’s leadership. On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration dissolved the Biden-era Disinformation Governance Board, derided by critics as a thinly veiled censorship arm.
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