YouTube Will 'Protect Free Expression' By Pulling Back On Content Moderation

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: YouTube videos may be getting a bit more pernicious soon. Google's dominant video platform has spent years removing discriminatory and conspiracy content from its platform in accordance with its usage guidelines, but the site is now reportedly adopting a lighter-touch approach to moderation. A higher bar for content removal will allow more potentially inflammatory content to remain up in the 'public interest.'

Beginning late last year, YouTube began informing moderators they should err on the side of caution when removing videos that are in the public interest. That includes user uploads that discuss issues like elections, race, gender, sexuality, abortion, immigration, and censorship. Previously, YouTube's policy told moderators to remove videos if one-quarter or more of the content violated policies. Now, the exception cutoff has been increased to half. In addition, staff are now told to bring issues to managers if they are uncertain rather than removing the content themselves.
'Recognizing that the definition of 'public interest' is always evolving, we update our guidance for these exceptions to reflect the new types of discussion we see on the platform today,' YouTube's Nicole Bell told the New York Times. 'Our goal remains the same: to protect free expression on YouTube while mitigating egregious harm.'

Most of the videos hosted on YouTube won't be affected by this change, the company says. 'These exceptions apply to a small fraction of the videos on YouTube, but are vital for ensuring important content remains available,' a YouTube spokesperson tells Ars. 'This practice allows us to prevent, for example, an hours-long news podcast from being removed for showing one short clip of violence.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.