Buckeye Reporter

Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) has sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai seeking clarification on the company’s decision to move Univision and Telemundo channels from YouTube TV’s basic package to a separate “Spanish-only” bundle, which costs an additional $15 per month. The move could affect about 10 million subscribers in the United States if no agreement is reached between Google and NBCUniversal this week.

In his letter, Senator Moreno expressed concern that this change would raise prices for millions of Hispanic viewers who rely on these channels. He stated, "Hasn’t your company learned by now that censoring the content that subscribers have access to is potentially illegal, a terrible business practice, and has called into question your integrity and trustworthiness as an information dissemination platform that over 10 million households utilize." He added, "Such conduct also risks a need for antitrust scrutiny, as it may reflect an abuse of market power to restrict consumer choice."

Moreno criticized Google's approach as effectively placing what he described as an "18 percent tax" on Hispanic customers or denying them access altogether. He linked this recent decision with past actions by Google regarding content moderation during the COVID-19 pandemic and elections, suggesting a pattern of restricting access based on market dominance.

The senator requested more information from Google about its negotiations with NBCUniversal and the rationale behind creating a separate paid package for Spanish-language programming.