The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating YouTube, owned by
Alphabet, for possible violations of consumer-protection law in its handling of
account suspensions and reductions in content visibility, people familiar with
the matter said. The probe, opened last year, has entered final stages as the
agency prepares potential litigation, the sources said. Investigators are
focused on whether YouTube breached its own user policies when banning or
demoting content and whether its content rules may have misled users into
posting material that was later removed or that led to account suspensions.
