Story at-a-glance
-September 29, 2021, Google deleted my YouTube account for "violating community guidelines" they'd implemented that same morning
-September 28, 2022, I filed a lawsuit against Google, YouTube and Alphabet Inc. for breach of contract. YouTube unilaterally amended the contract without notice, which is a violation of its own terms, and then used this last-minute amendment to remove my content
-YouTube's terms of service also include a "three strikes" policy, where users are supposed to be given three warnings and opportunities to remove content that violates the guidelines BEFORE being banned. I had no "strikes" against my channel on the day I was deplatformed and deleted
-We're also suing YouTube for unjust enrichment, as for the last 16 years, my video content, having generated in excess of 50 million views, has been of great financial benefit to YouTube, allowing them to increase advertising revenue on the site
-November 8, 2021, I sued U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, both in her official and personal capacities, for violating my First Amendment rights, as she tried to force Amazon.com to ban my book, "The Truth About COVID-19"
September 29, 2021, Google deleted my YouTube account for "violating community guidelines" — guidelines they'd implemented that very same morning. September 28, 2022, I filed a lawsuit1 against Google, YouTube and Alphabet Inc. for breach of contract.2
As detailed in my complaint, YouTube unilaterally amended the contract without notice, which is a violation of its own terms, and then used this last-minute amendment to remove my content, which went back to 2005, the same year YouTube was founded. At the time YouTube deleted my content, I had more than 300,000 subscribers, and my videos had collectively garnered more than 50 million views.
While I disagreed with YouTube's censorship, when its "COVID-19 misinformation" policy was implemented back in April 2021, I carefully avoided posting any content on YouTube that might violate that guideline.
In fact, over 16 years on the platform, I never once received notice of any "strike" against my channel for violation of community guidelines.
Clear Breach of Contract
Then, on the morning of September 29, 2022, at 9 a.m. EDT, The Washington Post published an article titled "YouTube Is Banning Joseph Mercola and a Handful of Other Anti-Vaccine Activists." According to the WaPo:
"YouTube is taking down several video channels associated with high-profile anti-vaccine activists including Joseph Mercola ... As part of a new set of policies aimed at cutting down on anti-vaccine content on the Google-owned site.
YouTube will ban any videos that claim that commonly used vaccines approved by health authorities are ineffective or dangerous. The company previously blocked videos that made those claims about coronavirus vaccines, but not ones for other vaccines like those for measles or chickenpox."
Six minutes AFTER the publication of that WaPo article, at 9.06 a.m. EDT, I received an email from YouTube informing me that my entire channel had been deplatformed and banned. They didn't just take down old videos where I discussed vaccines. They took down my whole channel, including thousands of videos that were completely unrelated to vaccines.
So, as described in my complaint, the evidence suggests YouTube had considered this new guideline for some time — to not allow disparaging views against ANY approved vaccine — and they worked with a reporter from The WaPo to create that article ahead of time.
The WaPo article was then embargoed until the morning of September 29 in order to not allow me (or anyone else affected by this change) to review the new policy, take steps to bring my channel into compliance, or move my content to another platform. Instead, they simply deleted 16 years' worth of intellectual property, without warning.
This is a clear violation of its own terms of service, which state that YouTube "will provide reasonable advance notice" of any changes to the terms of service, and that users will have "the opportunity to review them" and to remove content if they do not agree to the new terms.
Government, Media and Social Media Collude to Censor
The WaPo article coinciding with YouTube's action is also a blatant illustration of how government, social media platforms and media collude and coordinate attacks to censor people and organizations with whom they do not agree, or who pose a threat to their propaganda narrative...
Much more story and video at the link:
Why I'm Suing YouTube and Google
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