Content moderation for social media is a necessary business procedure to ensure social media platform companies can eliminate harmful commentary or dangerous information. Moderation protects both the user and account holder on social media platforms from aspects of harm including graphic imagery, hate speech, harassment, and more. Each social media platform has its moderation policies. In this article, we will discuss YouTube’s content moderation structure and coverage.
Of note, brands and companies should also adhere to their own moderation procedures for individual accounts and content feeds.
Understanding YouTube Content Moderation
YouTube employs content moderation techniques that aim to keep its content respectable, safe, and enjoyable for its entire audience. In order to accomplish this, the company set out clear guidelines outlining the type of content that will and will not be allowed on the platform. These guidelines are then enforced by a combination of automated moderation systems and human moderators.
In their community guidelines, a variety of topics are listed as either inappropriate or age-restricted. Inappropriate content is usually removed after review, and age-restricted content is blocked from viewers who are considered underage. Such content includes hate speech, pornography, profane language, and medical misinformation.
The vast majority of inappropriate content is flagged by their automated system and then reviewed by human moderators. However, users of the platform are also able to flag content they believe is inappropriate, and then human moderators review this content and determine whether it stays or is removed.
Importance of YouTube content moderation
Content moderation is especially necessary on YouTube because of its large and varied user base. With around 1.7 billion active monthly users from all age groups, backgrounds, and countries, it is easy for an inappropriate video to cause irreversible damage to an individual, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Effective moderation ensures that each user’s values, beliefs, and rights are protected and that they can freely enjoy the content they are viewing.
Mechanisms of Content Moderation
YouTube uses both machine learning technology and human beings working together to moderate content. For most categories of content in their guidelines, their machine learning technology simply flags potentially violative content for human moderators to decide whether the content should remain or be removed.
Automated systems and algorithms
YouTube’s automated moderation system is continually being trained to identify content that violates its community guidelines. This process starts with training human moderators to differentiate between content that is acceptable and content that violates community guidelines. The human moderators are simply given the guidelines and then are asked to use those rules to decide if various videos meet or violate the guidelines. The findings from these sessions are then fed into machine learning systems, allowing them to flag large numbers of inappropriate content.
For some content, however, more context is needed to determine if a video should be removed or not. In these cases (and most cases for that matter), videos are simply flagged for a human moderator to review. The benefit of automated systems is that they can flag large amounts of content quickly before too many views are attracted.
Human review processes
YouTube human moderators serve a dual purpose: they train automated systems to identify violative content at scale, and they confirm or deny whether flagged content should remain on the platform. As mentioned earlier, their training includes receiving a set of guidelines and then being tasked to differentiate between violative and non-violative content based on those guidelines.
Human moderators would be unable to catch inappropriate content as quickly as the automated systems, but once content is already flagged they are better able to use context to make a final decision to remove or retain content on the platform.
Challenges in Content Moderation
YouTube content moderation comes with some challenges, including keeping up with the volume of content uploaded, finding a fair balance between freedom of expression and harmful content, and navigating accusations of biases.
Scale and volume of content
Over 500 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every minute. This would be next to impossible for human moderators to handle effectively without the aid of automated systems. For more effective moderation, YouTube combines machine learning technology and human moderators to catch and remove content that breaks community rules. Humans train the machines over time, and in return, these machines can flag large amounts of inappropriate content very quickly.
Balancing free speech and harm prevention
YouTube does not remove all “offensive” content from its platform, as it believes in freedom of expression and open debate. To draw the line between free speech and harm prevention when developing their guidelines, they focus on one major goal: preventing real-world harm. To develop these policies, they work closely with third-party institutions, NGOs, and government authorities to gain deeper insight into certain issues; for example, child safety, violent extremism, hate speech, and harassment.
Outcomes of Content Moderation
Potential outcomes of YouTube content moderation include content approval, removal, or restrictions. Continuously publishing content that goes against their community guidelines can also negatively affect users’ accounts.
Content removal and restrictions
Content is usually removed once it violates any of the community guidelines. If any user believes their content was unfairly removed, they can appeal the decision, after which the content may be approved or confirmed inappropriate. Some content, instead of being removed, is restricted to viewers over 18 years old. While content might not necessarily violate community guidelines, it might be considered inappropriate for viewers under 18 years old. In these cases, viewers are required to log in to their account and verify their age to view the content.
Effects on user accounts
Repeatedly violating YouTube’s community guidelines, or committing copyright infringements can result in a user’s account being temporarily suspended, demonetized, or permanently banned. If a user wishes to appeal these actions, they are able to log in to their account and submit their email address and reason for appeal. If the reason for the appeal is accepted, then the user is given full access to their account, but if it is rejected, the user is automatically logged out.
Viewer experience and safety
Another outcome of content moderation is the overall viewer experience on the platform. By taking steps to remove harmful content, YouTube aims to ensure that all users of the platform have a positive and enjoyable experience. Content moderation can also help keep viewers from engaging in harmful behaviors.
Future of YouTube Content Moderation
YouTube is continually working to improve its content moderation policies and technology in order to keep up with societal changes and advancements in technology.
Technological advancements
Currently, YouTube uses complex machine learning technology to flag inappropriate content on the platform. In order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of these systems, human moderators are used to train them each time new policies or guidelines are established.
Policy changes and regulations
YouTube’s community guidelines are updated fairly regularly to keep abreast of societal changes. The company’s CEO noted that moderation teams always seek to look ahead for potential areas in the future where policy changes might become necessary. Also, they are flexible and quick to make real-time adjustments as needed. For example, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic where guidelines were established to prevent content that spread misinformation.
Conclusion and CTA
Content moderation is necessary for all social platforms to ensure user safety. YouTube employs a combination of automated systems and human moderators to establish a moderation system that is continuously being improved. As with any other content moderation system, YouTube also has to find a good balance between removing harmful content and upholding freedom of expression.
Although YouTube has its own content moderation systems in place, businesses that choose to use the platform are responsible for monitoring the content they publish, as well as the content their followers publish on their profiles. As a business owner, content moderation can seem tedious and like an added burden to your already endless list of responsibilities, yet it is vital for the success of your business on the platform.
By partnering with ICUC, you’ll gain access to expert moderation services, advanced technology solutions, and comprehensive community management. Ready to strengthen your brand’s integrity and develop a healthy following on YouTube? Book a meeting with us.
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