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On June 5th, YouTube announced in a post on its official blog that it is going to be:
Removing more hateful and supremacist content from YouTube
by specifically prohibiting videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion based on qualities like age, gender, race, caste, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status.
Finally, we will remove content denying that well-documented violent events, like the Holocaust or the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, took place.
Reducing borderline content and raising up authoritative voices
In January, we piloted an update of our systems in the U.S. to limit recommendations of borderline content and harmful misinformation
We're looking to bring this updated system to more countries by the end of 2019. Thanks to this change, the number of views this type of content gets from recommendations has dropped by over 50% in the U.S. Our systems are also getting smarter about what types of videos should get this treatment, and we'll be able to apply it to even more borderline videos moving forward. As we do this, we'll also start raising up more authoritative content in recommendations
Continuing to reward trusted creators and enforce our monetization policies
we are strengthening enforcement of our existing YouTube Partner Program policies. Channels that repeatedly brush up against our hate speech policies will be suspended from the YouTube Partner program, meaning they can't run ads on their channel or use other monetization features like Super Chat.
In an article discussing this, Silicon Valley reporter Casey Newton of The Verge notes that this "is expected to result in the removal of thousands of channels across YouTube."
The crackdown goes into effect today and will "ramp up" over the next few days.
Aristarchus adds from Time:
The video streaming company says it has already made it more difficult to find and promote such videos, but it's now removing them outright. YouTube will also prohibit videos that deny certain proven events have taken place, such as the Holocaust.
The changes come as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other online services face mounting concern that the services allow, and in some cases foster , extremism.
YouTube's new policies will take effect immediately. Specifically, the service is banning videos "alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion." The ban applies to a range of characteristics, including race, sexual orientation and veteran status.
[...] The companies have said they are walking the balance between creating safe spaces while also protecting freedom of expression. With little government oversight on online material, internet companies have become the arbiters for what is and isn't allowed.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Monday June 10 2019, @07:12PM
You can always just do it yourself [duckduckgo.com].
What's that? It's harder to make money [investopedia.com] that way?
I guess the question then becomes, "Why am I posting this stuff? Am I trying to get ideas and arguments in which I believe out there? Am I posting what I *think* will get me as many "clicks" as possible to maximize revenue?"
If the answer is the former (or even a combination of the former and the latter), then you might want to consider making sure that your ideas and arguments aren't held hostage to centralized providers.
But...But...But...Other folks get to make money with their stupid videos! Strip downs of electronic gadgets and howtos on proper make-up application and dos and don'ts while you're traveling in country 'x'. Why do those folks get to make money, and I can't do the same with my videos about torturing small animals, encouraging mass murder and beating oddly dressed folks?
That's just wrong, man!
Did I miss anything? Maybe that private entities are not bound by the 1st Amendment in the US? Or that advertisers (you know, Google's actual customers) often don't want their ads next to goose-stepping fools calling for the expulsion, murder and eradication of all but the "master race."
The TCP/IP suite of protocols were created with the idea that any node could be a client or a server. Despite what the big ISPs have done, that's still true. Just as Gutenberg's moveable type democratized printing, the Internet democratized the flow of information.
So even if you are a piece of shit with hate on your lips and murder and violence in your heart, you can still spew your nauseating rhetoric. Just not on YouTube.
I don't really use youtube, except for the occasional song, but I'd venture to guess that nothing much of value will be lost.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr