Sorry, but YouTube’s new video removal policies are consistent with the First Amendment

It may be called YouTube, but that doesn’t mean it belongs to you. It is the property of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. People on both sides of the political aisle seem to have forgotten this crucial fact. They also seem to have forgotten that the First Amendment does not guarantee you a right to say whatever you want, whenever you want. It only promises that your speech will not be either limited or compelled by government. In short, it is a protection from government, not a right over fellow citizens.

That’s why YouTube’s newly announced policies on which videos will be allowed on its platform should be supported by free speech advocates. The company is exercising its own speech rights: its right to not provide a platform for certain speech they find to violate their principles. In that sense, it’s no different than you choosing not to host a fundraising barbecue in your backyard for a cause with which you disagree. What the company is not doing is preventing anyone from making a video about anything.

With the recent news about potential antitrust investigations surrounding big tech companies, some may argue that YouTube, and thus Alphabet/Google’s size means they are under different obligations. Nope.

There is no size caveat in the First Amendment.

Read the full article at the Washington Examiner.