YouTube is updating its policies with the goal of improving inclusivity within its community. Over the summer, CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote in a blog post that YouTube would be working to better support its diverse body of content creators. Now the community is receiving an update on those efforts and what's happening next.
The video-sharing platform has already made efforts to protect and support its creators this year. Calvin Lee Vail's LeafyIsHere channel was banned last August for violating the updated harassment policy. YouTube also demonetized Shane Dawson’s three channels over alleged offensive content. However, the platform's attempts haven’t always been perfect. Along with Twitter and Facebook, YouTube received criticism for not doing enough to combat racism on the platform, while publicly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Not to mention, YouTube also refused to take down a video claiming Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential election, due to a gap in its policies.
In a post, YouTube shared its plans to reach out to content creators with a new optional survey next year. The survey is geared toward gathering more data on creators and will ask them for additional personal information, such as sexual orientation, gender and race. This information is intended to help YouTube better understand who content is coming from, and how certain communities compare in search and discovery systems, as well as on monetization. The survey will also allow YouTube to monitor which communities are receiving more hate and harassment than others.
What Else YouTube Is Doing
The company also elaborated on some of its efforts to improve the comments section, a place where hate speech can often be found. For example, a new YouTube Studio filtering feature is currently being tested that could prevent creators from even seeing harmful or inappropriate comments to begin with. YouTube has also now launched a new feature aimed at the people leaving comments where a notification reminds them to “keep comments respectful” and provides a link to YouTube's Community Guidelines for further information.
Sites like YouTube make it easier for anyone to broadcast their voice and opinions. While that can lead to hateful comments, it also allows those who may have otherwise been silenced to find an opportunity to speak out. In a time of increased online harassment, it’s all the more important that content creators, especially those who have been previously marginalized, have a more positive YouTube experience.
Source: YouTube