On Tuesday, Google announced a major change to its YouTube policy: the company will allow creators who were permanently banned for political content related to COVID-19 or elections to apply for reinstatement.
This shift comes after years of criticism that YouTube removed content under pressure from the Biden administration.
A letter from Google's lawyer, Daniel Donovan, sent to the House Judiciary Committee, revealed that YouTube will roll back lifetime bans tied to COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that the company has since retired, FoxNews reported.
The reinstatement program will be a limited pilot, open to a small group of creators whose channels were removed under now-defunct rules.
"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if the company terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect," Donovan wrote.
The letter also emphasized YouTube's commitment to "free expression" and acknowledged the importance of conservative voices, including well-known figures like former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose channels were banned in recent years.
🚨BREAKING: YOUTUBE TO REINSTATE BANNED ACCOUNTS
— Basil the Great (@Basil_TGMD) September 23, 2025
Google has announced that YouTube accounts permanently banned for political speech will be eligible for reinstatement
They've acknowledged past pressure from the Biden administration to remove content
[@FoxNews ] pic.twitter.com/TXsWomsCqZ
YouTube Reverses Course on COVID, Election Bans After GOP Pressure
This policy change follows mounting pressure from Republicans who have criticized big tech companies for censorship.
In particular, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan accused YouTube of acting as a "direct participant in the federal government's censorship regime," referring to Biden-era efforts to suppress certain speech related to the pandemic and elections.
The letter exposed behind-the-scenes pressure from senior Biden administration officials who repeatedly urged Google to remove content about COVID-19—even when it did not technically violate YouTube's policies.
According to CNBC, Donovan called this political pressure "unacceptable and wrong." YouTube ended its separate COVID misinformation rules in December 2024 and announced it will no longer allow third-party fact-checkers to moderate content, saying the platform will focus on "free expression."
This reversal follows similar moves by Meta (Facebook and Instagram), which ended its fact-checking program earlier this year after criticism from politicians and users.
YouTube will still provide context on videos through information panels that link to independent fact-checks, but it will no longer label or remove videos based on external fact-checkers' decisions.
Google's announcement also criticized the European Union's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, warning these laws place "a disproportionate regulatory burden" on American companies.
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