Lady Freethinker v. Google CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1

A. The alleged contract 1. YouTube’s alleged promises YouTube is an internet-based video sharing service and a wholly owned subsidiary of Google LLC. Google and YouTube are the first and second-most visited websites in the world, respectively, according to one source cited by Lady Freethinker. Users may access, upload and view videos on YouTube only if they accept and agree to comply with YouTube’s and Google’s terms of service and community guidelines. In exchange, Lady Freethinker alleges, YouTube and Google make certain promises on which their users rely when accepting those terms. Among other things, they promise that they will not allow animal abuse, torture, or cruelty videos to be shown on the YouTube platform. YouTube’s community guidelines specify what type of content is not allowed on its platform, which entails various content “including videos, comments, likes and thumbnails.” YouTube states that its community guidelines “are a key part of our broader suite of policies and are regularly updated in consultation with outside experts and YouTube creators to keep pace with emerging challenges.” The community guidelines claim that…