Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is demanding that YouTube give its reason for demonetizing a news channel covering the disappearance of a Chinese tennis star.
In a letter exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, Blackburn claims that YouTube’s decision to cut off ad revenue from a video by the news channel “Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar” shows that it is in cahoots with the Chinese Communist Party to “promote its dangerous viewpoints around the world.” In addition, Blackburn asks YouTube to identify any other time that it has “has demonetized, blocked, or deleted content at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The video in question highlighted Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s two-week disappearance after her allegation that a CCP official raped her. YouTube had flagged the video as inappropriate, claiming that the video “isn’t suitable for all advertisers.” This blocked a key revenue source for the channel, according to the Free Beacon.
YouTube told the Free Beacon that, since advertisers could still opt to advertise on the platform’s blacklisted video list, the video was not actually demonetized. However, YouTube did answer questions about how many advertisers opt to run ads on flagged videos.
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