YouTube also announced that it has disabled comments on ‘tens of millions’ of videos and reported illegal comments to law enforcement.
Highlights:
- YouTube deletes 400 channels, disables comments on millions of videos.
- The comments were sexually offensive towards children.
- Some companies have either pulled or postponed their advertising spending from YouTube.
In a bid to protect kids from pedophiles on the platform, YouTube has terminated as many as 400 channels, disabled comments on tens of millions of videos and has reported illegal comments to law enforcement. The action was in response to a video that was published by YouTuber Matt Watson (aka MattsWhatitis). In the video, he showed how some deviant people were posting sexually offensive comments on certain videos that were being monetised.
In the video, MattsWhatitis showed how some people were time stamping specific scenes that sexualized the child or children in the video. The videos aren’t pornographic in nature, however, the comments sections on the videos are filled with predatory comments and videos targeting young children. (Watch Below)
“Over the past 48 hours I have discovered a wormhole into a soft-core pedophilia ring on Youtube. Youtube’s recommended algorithm is facilitating pedophiles’ ability to connect with each-other, trade contact info, and link to actual CP in the comments. I can consistently get access to it from vanilla, never-before-used Youtube accounts via innocuous videos in less than ten minutes, in sometimes less than five clicks.. Additionally, I have video evidence that these videos are being monetized,” Watson said in the description of the video he posted on YouTube.
He alleged that YouTube is facilitating this behaviour and called upon the company to do “something.” In response, YouTube appreciated the YouTuber for raising awareness of this with fans and left a comment to provide an update on what they’ve done to combat horrible people on the site in 48 hours. “…you realise all of us at YouTube are working incredibly hard to root out horrible behaviour on our platform,” the company said.
Meanwhile, companies like Walt Disney Co, and Nestle reportedly pulled its advertising spending from YouTube, after Watson posted the video. Some of the videos involved ran next to ads placed by Disney and Nestle. Bloomberg reports that video game maker Epic Games and German packaged food giant Dr. August Oetker KG had also postponed YouTube spending after their ads were shown to play before the videos.
In 2017, Johanna Wright, Vice President of Product Management at YouTube, posted a blog in which she detailed the steps taken by the video hosting platform to protect families on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Out of a number of steps taken to keep offensive content off the platform, YouTube said that it would remove ads from inappropriate videos targeting families as well as block inappropriate comments on videos featuring minors in objectionable light.
Related Report:
YouTube to start banning dangerous challenges and prank videos
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