The U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly in the final stages of a probe into whether YouTube’s content policies misled users and violated consumer protection laws.

  • The FTC has been investigating YouTube since last year and is reportedly preparing a potential lawsuit, according to Bloomberg.
  • The probe is reportedly examining whether users were misled about what content they could post on the platform.
  • YouTube suspended Donald Trump’s account after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly investigating whether Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) YouTube violated consumer protection laws when it suspended users’ accounts. The agency has been probing the video platform since last year and is in the final stages of preparing a potential lawsuit, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the probe.

GOOGL shares were trading 0.01% higher in after-hours trading on Thursday at the time of writing, after ending the regular session 0.4% lower.

FTC Reportedly Probing YouTube’s Account Suspensions

The FTC’s probe examines whether YouTube violated its own user policies by banning or demoting content. The investigation is also looking into whether users may have been misled by YouTube’s content policies into signing up for the service, believing they were allowed to post certain content, only to have that content later removed or their accounts suspended, according to Bloomberg.

YouTube and other social media platforms suspended the accounts of Donald Trump and other political figures following the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Trump’s YouTube account was reinstated in 2023. YouTube also removed health-related content about vaccines and COVID-19 that it determined violated its misinformation policies.

Potential Lawsuit Could Lead To Settlement Or Court Fight

If the FTC files a lawsuit, YouTube could either reach a settlement with the agency or defend itself in court, stated the Bloomberg report.

FTC spokesman Joe Simonson said that “leaks will never stop or slow a single law-enforcement investigation or litigation at the FTC” and that such leaks would be referred to authorities for investigation, Bloomberg reported.

FTC Chair Has Previously Raised Concerns

FTC Republican Commissioner and Chair Andrew Ferguson has previously signaled his interest in a case involving social media platforms’ content policies. Since the end of the Biden administration, Ferguson has argued for investigating whether the platforms violated their policies and potentially colluded to censor certain political speech.

The biggest platforms “banned dissent on the origins of COVID-19, mask mandates, the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, transgenderism, and the integrity of the 2020 election,” Ferguson wrote at the time, reported Bloomberg.

GOOGL Stock: Stocktwits Retail Sentiment

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for GOOGL was ‘bearish,’ unchanged over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose to ‘normal’ from ‘low’ during the same period.

GOOGL stock has gained around 9.4% year-to-date.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<