Explained: Why Google removes videos from YouTube, who decides what is harmful content and more – Times of India

Like every other content sharing or hosting platform, YouTube sees a fair amount of videos that violate its guidelines. In fact, YouTube recently revealed that it removed more than 5.6 million videos — between July 2022 to September 2022 — for violating its Community Guidelines. Further, it also received roughly 271,000 removal appeals. “Upon review, we reinstated about 29,000 appeals,” YouTube said in a blog post. In the same blog post, YouTube put out a detailed explanation on why videos are removed, who makes the final call on removal and much more. Here we break it down and explain why videos are removed from YouTube

What kind of videos are removed from YouTube?

Any video that violates the platform’s guidelines is generally removed. Content that is offensive in nature doesn’t really stay up. Two senior YouTube executives say that “the vast majority of content on YouTube does not violate our guidelines. But we still check for gaps that may have opened up or hunt for emerging risks that test our policies in new ways.”
YouTube also says that it doesn’t remove all offensive content from YouTube, and we generally believe that open debate and free expression leads to better societal outcomes. “But we’re careful to draw the line around content that may cause egregious harm to our users or to the platform,” explain the executives. Citing an example, YouTube explained that when claims were made that 5G technology was to the spread of COVID-19 resulted in damage to cell towers across the United Kingdom, “we moved quickly to make them violative.” Further, videos that aim aim to mislead people about voting — including by promoting false information about the voting times, places or eligibility requirements are also removed.

What is the process that determines which video violates the guidelines?

The team at YouTube watches hundreds of videos to understand the implications of drawing different policy lines. “Drawing a policy line is never about a single video; it’s about thinking through the impact on all videos, which would be removed and which could stay up under the new guideline,” says YouTube.

Who takes the call to remove the videos?

After the videos go through the review team, an executive group made up of leads across the company reviews the proposal. Final sign-off comes from the highest levels of leadership, including YouTube’s Chief Product Officer and CEO.

Does YouTube work with third-party experts or bodies?

Yes, it does. YouTube partners closely with a range of established third-party experts on topics like hate speech or harassment. We also work with various government authorities on other important issues like violent extremism and child safety. Citing an example of the the coup d’état in Myanmar in 2021, YouTube worked with experts to identify cases where individuals were using speech to incite hatred and violence along ethno-religious lines. “This allowed us to quickly remove the violative content from our platform,” said YouTube.

How much AI and machine learning is used?

YouTube says that it has machine learning models that are trained to identify potentially violative content. However, the role of content moderators remains essential throughout the enforcement process. “Machine learning identifies potentially violative content at scale and nominates for review content that may be against our Community Guidelines. Content moderators then help confirm or deny whether the content should be removed,” explains YouTube.