The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly investigating Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube for a potential violation of consumer protection laws after it suspended users’ accounts.
What the FTC Is Investigating
The antitrust regulator has been probing YouTube since last year and is in the final stages of preparing a potential lawsuit, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the probe.
The investigation is looking into whether YouTube may have misled users about its content policies when signing up for its services, leading them to believe they were allowed to post certain content, only to have it taken down or suspended later.
YouTube, Alphabet’s Google, and the FTC did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
The FTC spokesman Joe Simonson told Bloomberg that "leaks will never stop or slow a single law-enforcement investigation or litigation at the FTC", but declined to comment on the YouTube probe.
YouTube’s History of Removing Accounts
The platform removed President Donald Trump‘s account following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol due to concerns that his posts could incite violence, and it was reinstated in 2023.
In 2024, the company removed channels and banned accounts for policy breaches, but restored some accounts that had been incorrectly flagged as spam.
Meta’s $17B Settlement
The reported probe into YouTube comes as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) on Wednesday agreed to a broad settlement of up to $17 billion with 29 U.S. states that it designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children and harm their mental health.
Price Action: Alphabet’s Class A shares closed 0.39% lower on Thursday at $340.65 and fell 0.06% in after-hours trading. Its Class C shares closed 0.41% lower at $337.71 and fell 0.09% in extended trading.
Benzinga edge rankings show Alphabet’s Class C stock has a Momentum score in the 80th percentile and a Growth score in the 88th percentile.
Photo Courtesy: Hamara on Shutterstock.com
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