FTC Probes YouTube Over Misleading Content Policies
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube over potentially misleading users about its content policies, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
The FTC has been probing YouTube since last year and is in the final stages of preparing a potential lawsuit. The investigation focuses on whether YouTube misled users when signing up for services, leading them to believe they could post certain content only to have it taken down or suspended later.
This reported probe comes as Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to a $17 billion settlement with 29 U.S. states that its Instagram and Facebook platforms were designed to be addictive to children and harm their mental health.
YouTube has previously removed accounts for policy breaches, including President Donald Trump's account after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021. The platform also restored some accounts that had been incorrectly flagged as spam in 2024.