The re-election campaign of US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube decision to stop policing false claims about fraud in the 2020 election is “reckless” and could lead to violence.
“YouTube’s reckless and irresponsible decision will invite further democratic decay and potential violence, and we urge them to reconsider this policy,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement.
YouTube announced on Friday that it will no longer remove content that may have promoted misleading claims about US presidential elections in 2020 and prior.
According to the site, while eliminating the content did reduce “some misinformation,” it could also have the unintended consequence of limiting political speech.
Former President Donald Trump, Biden’s opponent, has erroneously claimed that the election was marred by rampant fraud. Trump supporters sought to overturn the election result by invading the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Munoz noted that YouTube’s policy change did “not erase” the fact that Biden fairly won the 2020 presidential election and said that social media companies had played a role in spreading lies in 2020.
Biden, a Democrat, is running for re-election in 2024, and Trump, a Republican, is seeking his party’s nomination to take on Biden again.
