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YouTube has updated its anti-harassment policy to ban videos that contain "veiled or implied threats" or any insults that target a person's race, gender, or sexual orientation.
The video-sharing service introduced the new policy on Wednesday as YouTube began retroactively taking down videos flagged for violating the revised rules. "All of these updates represent another step towards making sure we protect the YouTube community," wrote YouTube VP Matt Halprin in today's post.
We believe in people having the freedom to express opinions, including negative or controversial ones, but many creators have told us that we need to do a better job to prevent harassment on You Tube, so we took a close look at our current community guidelines... https://t.co/APKVDgSz65 — YouTube (@YouTube) December 11, 2019
The new rules were crafted in response to a controversy that erupted back in June; Vox reporter Carlos Maza had urged YouTube to suspend the channel of conservative commentator Steven Crowder for harassing him over his sexual orientation and ethnicity. But initially, YouTube declined, despite the company's existing anti-harassment policy, which banned bullying.
"While we found language (in Crowder's channel) that was clearly hurtful, the videos as posted don't violate our policies," YouTube said at the time, only to reverse-course and suspend Crowder's ability to make money from his videos.
On Wednesday, YouTube said it had updated the anti-harassment policy based on feedback from organizations that study online bullying or advocate for journalists, in addition to groups that support free speech. But ultimately, the service decided to take a stronger stance to crack down on threats and personal attacks.
"We remain committed to our openness as a platform and to ensuring that spirited debate and a vigorous exchange of ideas continue to thrive here. However, we will not tolerate harassment," Halprin wrote.
To enforce the policy, YouTube says it'll punish offenders who "repeatedly brush up against" the anti-harassment rules by suspending their ability to make money from their videos. "If this behavior continues, we'll take more severe action including issuing strikes or terminating a channel altogether," Halprin added. (According to YouTube's policy, a creator who receives three strikes in a 90-day period will see his or her channel permanently removed.)
Today's policy change was accompanied by numerous video takedowns, which sparked the hashtag #youtubeisoverparty to trend on Twitter. Conservative commentator Steven Crowder has also accused YouTube of conducting a "purge" that'll unfairly ensnare both new and old videos without any prior warning.
My reaction to YouTube's policy announcement is extreme skepticism:
1. "Malicious insults" were already prohibited under YouTube's anti-hate and anti-harassment policies. YouTube rolls out policies like this to distract reporters from the real story: YouTube's non-enforcement. — Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) December 11, 2019
Other critics like Carlos Maza are skeptical YouTube's policy change will stop harassment, pointing out that the old rules also explicitly banned bullying and threats. According to Maza, the real problem is a lack of enforcement.
"YouTube loves to manage PR crises by rolling out vague content policies they don't actually enforce," he said in a tweet. "These policies only work if YouTube is willing to take down its most popular rule-breakers. And there's no reason, so far, to believe that it is."
In the meantime, YouTube is facing questions from video creators over how the policy change will affect content focused on political criticism. "Wide ranging debates/opinions on YouTube are welcome," YouTube said in response via a Twitter exchange. "(But) challenging ideas or critiquing someone's professional performance (for example) is different from attacking someone based on attributes like their race, religion, or sexual orientation."
Satire will also be permitted. "But that's NOT a free pass to harass someone. Remember, context is key," the video-sharing service added. The company has also posted a support document loaded with examples of the harassment YouTube is seeking to stop.
It's unclear how many videos YouTube has already taken down to comply with the new policy. However, the platform told PCMag the video removals will not impose a "strike" on the creator's record. Content uploaded over the next 30 days that ends up violating the new anti-harassment policy will also be removed, but without penalties to the creator.