YouTube is becoming safer, one flagged video at a time

Maryam Golkar, Staff Reporter

YouTube needs to continue regulating their content in a fair way because the internet is already home to enough danger.

YouTube has removed 58 million videos in just three months, according to a CNET article on . The motive behind filtering out these videos is to remove any that violates YouTube’s policies or extremist content, which includes spam and adult content.

Despite the regulations YouTube has set for its content creators, the platform has found an overwhelming number of people uploading content that is objectionable. The desire to keep YouTube a safe place is understandable, but given that it has over a billion users makes it hard to regulate.

YouTube is a place that anyone can access and it is important to make sure it remains a safe place where people are free to use it as a creative outlet for the right reasons.

The benefits to taking down videos deemed unethical is to lower the incentive that others will re-upload the same videos. But there is also a political factor that supports the removal of videos. For example, some people have been known to post content onto YouTube supporting terrorism. This is never OK.

People can also search for trigger words and enter into a whole world of explicit and supremacist content.

If a video gets removed, there is a reason. If someone disagrees with that, YouTube is not the place to upload their videos.

Some argue that freedom of speech plays a role in uploading what you want on your own channel, which is understandable, but what  YouTube tolerates on its platform ultimately reflects on the company’s bigger image. Taking the steps towards creating a safe community is vital towards YouTube’s continuing success and the safety of its users.

By eliminating videos that go against YouTube’s guidelines, people will be able to use the platform in the ways that it is meant to be used. It will allow users to roam safely on the site without running into content that the average person would not want to see.

It also sends the message that if someone is to use their YouTube channel to promote hate or violence, it will not be tolerated.