Google-owned YouTube took down a video from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), reportedly without offering an explanation to the Congresswoman.
According to Rep. Malliotakis, the video consisted of her press conference announcing her lawsuit against the Democrat Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, for his implementation of a vaccine “passport” scheme in the city.
April 12, 2021; New York, NY, USA; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio talks about the reopening of Broadway theaters as well as a just opened COVID-19 vaccination site for theater, film, TV workers in Times Square in Manhattan April 12, 2021. Mayor de Blasio was joined by actor, producer, and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda as well as Broadway performers, who sang several songs during the event.Mandatory Credit: Seth Harrison-USA TODAY NETWORK
Users attempting to navigate to the video are currently met with a notice from YouTube informing them that the video has been taken down due to a violation of the platform’s community guidelines, without specifying which guideline had been broken or how.
Malliotakis says she has received no explanation from YouTube. Breitbart News also reached out to Google for an explanation but received no response.
“I’m the latest victim of big tech censorship,” said Rep. Malliotakis on Twitter. “YouTube removed the video of my press conference announcing our lawsuit against @NYCMayor’s vaccine passport claiming it ‘violates community guidelines.’ My office reached out toYouTube asking why & all we’ve heard back is crickets.”
Rep. Malliotakis released a statement about the lawsuit challenging New York City’s vaccine mandates on her official website.
“The Mayor’s vaccine mandate is an overreach of government,” said Malliotakis. “The government should not be imposing such a mandate on its people and small business owners.”
“We have received calls from countless individuals that we represent — both vaccinated and unvaccinated — who are concerned about sharing personal health information with individuals they don’t know, or fearing they will be left out of society because their doctors recommended they do not get vaccinated due to other medical issues.”
“It is beyond ridiculous that the government is mandating these already struggling small business owners to be the city’s ‘vaccine police.'”
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.