In their letter sent to Alphabet, Inc. and YouTube, Republican Attorneys General Brenna Bird of Iowa, Ken Paxton of Texas, and 14 others are requesting information concerning YouTube's treatment of politically conservative content creators and channels since January 1, 2019.
"It's a great thing to have some of these AGs that we've got around the country," First Liberty Institute attorney Hiram Sasser tells AFN. "I find this to be incredibly refreshing because we're little guys. How're we supposed to take on Google? That's like firing a BB gun at a train."
But he says these attorneys general have "formed their own train" and have given "regular folks like you and me a fighting chance to hold Big Tech accountable for their censorship."
During an appearance on American Family Radio, Steve Deace, a content creator First Liberty represents, said despite YouTube's treatment of him since the "information war" that began with COVID, his show's audience has exploded in recent years and does very well in podcast rankings and advertising revenue.
Between 2020 and 2022, YouTube removed at least four of episodes of The Steve Deace Show from its platform because of speech critical of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the COVID-19 vaccine, and the integrity of the 2020 election.
"I am currently averaging about 3,700 views an episode on YouTube, the largest free use video platform in the history of this planet," he said. "I was one of the people leading the charge against that, which is one of the reasons why my shows exploded since then."
The letter is a formal demand for information, not a lawsuit. It does not force YouTube to do anything, but it signals the beginning of scrutiny rather than an immediate legal enforcement action.
Next steps could include a response from YouTube, further inquiry by the AGs, or escalation into formal legal inquiries if the AGs believe laws have been broken.
