The Houses of Parliament
A U.K. select committee is questioning social media companies about whether Russell Brand is able to monetize his content on their sites, sparking accusations of overreach.
Following an investigation by the Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches program, Brand has been accused by four women of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse.
He has since had his content removed from the BBC and Channel 4. Meanwhile, earlier this week, YouTube took steps to stop Brand's channels from making money off ads, saying he has violated the company's creator responsibility policy.
And now Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, has asked broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 to clarify the internal investigations they have carried out into Brand's activities during his time working there—and has also spread the net to question video platforms TikTok and Rumble.
"While we recognise that TikTok is not the creator of the content published by Mr Brand, and his content may be within the Community Guidelines set out by the platform, we are concerned that he may be able to profit from his content on the platform," Dinenage wrote to TikTok's director of government relations, Europe, Dr. Theo Bertram.
"We would be grateful if you could confirm whether Mr Brand is able to monetise his TikTok posts, including his videos relating to the serious accusations against him, and what the platform is doing to ensure that creators are not able to use the platform to undermine the welfare of victims of inappropriate and potentially illegal behaviour."
A similar letter was sent to Rumble, which has emphatically rejected the right of the committee to ask such questions.
Dinenage's letter to Rumble points out that Brand used the platform to issue his preemptive video responding to the allegations and asks whether he has been able to make money from his activities on the site.
And, writes Dinenage, "If so, we would like to know whether Rumble intends to join YouTube in suspending Mr Brand's ability to earn money on the platform."
Rumble describes the letter as "extremely disturbing."
"We regard it as deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the UK Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living from doing so," it says in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). "Singling out an individual and demanding his ban is even more disturbing given the absence of any connection between the allegations and his content on Rumble."
TikTok won't comment on the appropriateness of the request. However, according to a spokesperson, the different way in which content is monetized on the platform means that Brand was unable to make money from ads on the site. Content is monetized through TikTok's Creator Fund, of which Brand has never been part.
It's not clear whether any other social media companies have received similar letters—the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has been approached for comment.
