US Senators, including Bernie Sanders, send letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, YouTube’s Neal Mohan on ‘talks with Trump’ about censorship lawsuit: ‘We are concerned about…’

A group of senators has raised concerns that Google may be negotiating a settlement in a censorship lawsuit with former President Donald Trump in exchange for favourable treatment from his administration. For this, the group of Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren and independent Senator Bernie Sanders, has written a letter sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO

Neal Mohan

, questioning whether discussions with Trump's legal team have included such a possibility.The lawsuit stems from Trump's claims of unlawful censorship after his accounts were suspended from social media platforms following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The senators' letter cited a court filing from May that indicated lawyers for both YouTube and Trump were “engaged in productive discussions” and had requested a delay in a court hearing until September 8.“We are concerned about the possibility that Google could settle the lawsuit against YouTube in a quid-pro-quo arrangement to avoid full accountability for violating federal competition, consumer protection, and labor laws,” the letter states. The senators added that such an arrangement could potentially violate

federal bribery laws

.

Elon Musk’s X and Meta have settled similar lawsuits

They highlighted Google's vast interests in federal policy, from tax to environmental regulations, suggesting the company could be seeking outcomes favourable to its business. The letter also noted that both X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (formerly Facebook) have already settled similar lawsuits with Trump this year, for approximately $10 million and $25 million, respectively.“The company has substantial interests in almost every aspect of the federal government, from tax policy to energy and environmental policy, and much more,” they wrote. “Google stands to benefit from how the federal government proceeds in these matters, and Google may settle this lawsuit in the hopes of securing outcomes favorable to the company,” the Senators said in the letter.The lawmakers pointed to Google's existing legal challenges, including a major antitrust case with the Department of Justice that could lead to the company being broken up. They also mentioned several open cases with the National Labor Relations Board concerning alleged unfair labor practices.