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YouTube Is Heading For Its Cambridge Analytica Moment (cnbc.com)
Earlier this week, Disney, Nestle and others pulled its advertising spending from YouTube after a blogger detailed how comments on Google's video site were being used to facilitate a "soft-core pedophilia ring." Some of the videos involved ran next to ads placed by Disney and Nestle.
With the company facing similar problems over the years, often being "caught in a game of whack-a-mole to fix them," Matt Rosoff from CNBC writes that it's only a matter of time until YouTube faces a scandal that actually alienates users, as happened with Facebook in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. From the report: To be fair, YouTube has taken concrete steps to fix some problems. A couple of years ago, major news events were targets for scammers to post misleading videos about them, like videos claiming shootings such as the one in Parkland, Florida, were staged by crisis actors. In January, the company said it would stop recommending such videos, effectively burying them. It also favors "authoritative" sources in search results around major news events, like mainstream media organizations. And YouTube is not alone in struggling to fight inappropriate content that users upload to its platform. The problem isn't really about YouTube, Facebook or any single company. The problem is the entire business model around user-generated content, and the whack-a-mole game of trying to stay one step ahead of people who abuse it.
[T]ech platforms that rely on user-generated content are protected by the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which says platform providers cannot be held liable for material users post on them. It made sense at the time -- the internet was young, and forcing start-ups to monitor their comments sections (remember comments sections?) would have exploded their expenses and stopped growth before it started. Even now, when some of these companies are worth hundreds of billions of dollars, holding them liable for user-generated content would blow up these companies' business models. They'd disappear, reduce services or have to charge fees for them. Voters might not be happy if Facebook went out of business or they suddenly had to start paying $20 a month to use YouTube. Similarly, advertiser boycotts tend to be short-lived -- advertisers go where they get the best return on their investment, and as long as billions of people keep watching YouTube videos, they'll keep advertising on the platform. So the only way things will change is if users get turned off so badly that they tune out. Following Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, people deleted their accounts, Facebook's growth largely stalled in the U.S., and more young users have abandoned the platform. "YouTube has so far skated free of any similar scandals. But people are paying closer attention than ever before, and it's only a matter of time before the big scandal that actually starts driving users away," writes Rosoff.
[T]ech platforms that rely on user-generated content are protected by the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which says platform providers cannot be held liable for material users post on them. It made sense at the time -- the internet was young, and forcing start-ups to monitor their comments sections (remember comments sections?) would have exploded their expenses and stopped growth before it started. Even now, when some of these companies are worth hundreds of billions of dollars, holding them liable for user-generated content would blow up these companies' business models. They'd disappear, reduce services or have to charge fees for them. Voters might not be happy if Facebook went out of business or they suddenly had to start paying $20 a month to use YouTube. Similarly, advertiser boycotts tend to be short-lived -- advertisers go where they get the best return on their investment, and as long as billions of people keep watching YouTube videos, they'll keep advertising on the platform. So the only way things will change is if users get turned off so badly that they tune out. Following Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, people deleted their accounts, Facebook's growth largely stalled in the U.S., and more young users have abandoned the platform. "YouTube has so far skated free of any similar scandals. But people are paying closer attention than ever before, and it's only a matter of time before the big scandal that actually starts driving users away," writes Rosoff.
IMDB removed their comments sections entirely rather than police them.
Youtube's comments are more integral to the service, but if Youtube is going to be have to do more about them then respond to user complaints, they might find it easier to just shut that crap down preemptively.
YouTube isn't a social network. The controversy, such as it is, doesn't have anything to do with privacy. Also YouTube hasn't done anything dodgy or illegal, they've just responded poorly to a very minor bit of bad publicity.
This'll blow over, some full time YouTubers will sadly lose out (and we'll lose out on some good content) and YouTube will go on.
The CA thing was a mess because not only was there privacy concerns but there was the stink of corrupt American politics all over it.
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YouTube's business model is to profit from running ads along with user-generated content. However, because of the reactions to a small amount of abuse, YouTube is implementing measures that drive away a lot of content creators. They've adopted hostile policies in regard to copyright strikes and now in regard to abusive comments posted on videos. Advertisers are being ridiculous by pulling ads because of a small amount of abusive comments, and rather than deal with the abusive comments, YouTube has decided to punish content creators. The abusive comments isn't the scandal. The policies toward content creators is the real issue.
Sure, I was alienated by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as was another nerd I know, but that's it in my circle of acquaintances, and neither of us gave up our accounts. When I brought up the scandal at a get-together, nobody else had even heard of it, and the conversation shifted to how much everybody likes Facebook.
Honestly, I don't think Youtube can be blamed for the, admittedly clever, use of its comment system for nefarious reasons. If there is something they can do to stifle those uses, great...but it doesn't seem like there would be a bullet-proof, or even half-good, solution.
i hope the producers of this ""soft-core pedophilia" " content are punished severely.
It's YouTube. We hate all the ads.
You would think he'd get the hint with the zero likes...
Basically, with the new "comments on your video can get you demonetized" policy is going to slowly strangle the content creator community.
Because it favors established creators with multiple revenue streams already established.
And it is slowly looking to present an insurmountable barrier to entry for NEW creators.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Youtube regularly pushes unhinged anti Democrat or anti American conspiracy theories with Pepe user icons at me (with the exception of Alex Jones' now) so I've always wondered just what are they complaining about. Now we know.
I already pay and have an ad free experience. Worth every penny considering the amount of great content on it.
1. Fire all of the SJWs who continue to lose their shit that there are still Nazis howling from the virtual street corner. In 2019, anyone obsessed with Nazis should be assumed to either be a closet Nazi or sexually fetishizing them; either of which is moral turpitude for employment purposes as far as I'm concerned.
2. Abolish the whole ad system in favor of an ad marketplace that takes all of the ML engineers off of hunting Nazis and focusing on finding quality content creators to line up with big name advertisers who must then sign a digital contract saying "yes, we reviewed this and yes we accept full responsibility for all harm YouTube and other producers suffer if we pull out because this producer does some shit that offends us rather than just severing ties with them."
3. Give every non-premium creator a disk space quota.
4. Impose the video game rating system on content with severe penalties for any obvious attempt to evade it.
5. Create a credit system with no transaction fees that encourages people to pay for content. I would go as far as allowing people to offer up a single penny with payments happening every 90 days once a producer has made at least $5.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
should be closed given his views on child brides
perhaps someone should alert youtube
it's only a matter of time until YouTube faces a scandal that actually alienates users, as happened with Facebook in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Only one problem -- that never happened. Since the so-called "Cambridge Analytica scandal", Facebook's average daily user numbers have gone up, not down.
This is just more fake outrage over another phony scandal.
You don't get a say, lol. You can feel free to start your own "Angry nazi faggot tube" though, I don't think anybody is doing that currently. Go buy the domain?
Google is not really to blame here. Regardless of how the usual anti google assholes spin the problem. Youtube is not something that can work without some form of control over content. The AI being used to screen all the posts cannot be expected to catch every single bit of garbage that is uploaded. Would the AI allow a movie like Pretty Baby or Lolita to be posted if they were not already well known films? I suspect that if someone tried to post obvious kiddy porn works like these movies the AI would flag it and kick off the user and report the abuse to criminal authorities in the posters jurisdiction. Google is obligated to report child pornography and they do report users that try to post it.
The problem for Google is that the audience cannot be screened not the screening of the film content that is posted. How can Google be expected to screen who sees objectionable content on youtube? It would take a camera running in the consumers residence and AI to screen the persons age watching before allowing the content to stream. Something that could happened because of an intentional pre-screening iOS software feature LOL. The only way it is possible to screen the audience is to have them register and pay to view content the same way the internet porn industry and the cable/satellite porn industry works.
Too many people are leaping to top down authoritarianism as the first solution to more and more things. I don't want to solve my own problems, make daddy Youtube/police/government solve it for me. Someday we may find Skynet hanging over us monitoring and controlling everything we do and we'll wonder how we got here.
YOU DO NOT HAVE RIGHTS TO YOUTUBE.COM FUCKING MORON. You have zero rights to that domain's content beyond that which they graciously allow a retarded nazi faggot like yourself to waste. SORRY BITCH!
THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH AUTHORITARIANISM.
#EDUCATION AGAINST WILL
Youtube is far too responsive to media manufactured outrage. Whenever a journalist posts an an article about some edge-case scenario, Youtube always respond with massive censorship, be that in the form of demonetisation, account deletion, or going full-retard and disabling the comments.
By the time all the grievance mongers have finished with Youtube, the only remaining content will the highly sanitised videos promoting only the opinions of social justice extremists, and all reasons to visit Youtube will be gone. It'll be a lot like Twitter is now.
It's great to see Google on the receiving end of the outrage mobs they themselves encourage. It'll be interesting to see if they can run a profitable business while catering to the perpetually outraged and offended social justice extremest. My guess is they'll fail, and will have to operate at a loss or shut the service down entirely.
There are ads on Youtube?? When the hell did this happen?
If you have content that attracts pedo commentaries it's a valid question to find out why that is. So why is it that Trump talks about dating his daughter constantly anyway? That's not some OTHER troll, that's him saying it!
Is Trump not a pedo even if he directly talks about fucking his daughter? You'll defend anything won't you!
Such a pity if youtube went away.
So they create a stink to smear the competition. Of course they will fail in the end.
>It also favors `authoritative` sources in search results around major news events, like mainstream media organizations.
ROFL
Just post your comments in the subreddit bros.
... is because it must.
Legacy media is either so woke that they never sleep (ie. the "news"), uninteresting (a lot of cable/over-the-air TV), or desperately trying to get their own streaming services online to recoup more failing revenue with metadata scraping.
No wonder we need regular people making the things we like to watch, it's also a break from all this insanity and agenda-pushing.
I don't envy YouTube, they'll be forced (and/or choose) to "moderate" everyone into the ground sooner or later. And then the runner-up user streaming site will probably have a few short years of peace until the cycle begins again.
Facebook lost young users long before the CA incident. i work with teens and Facebook stopped being used by them in the '00s. Facebook is used by their parents and they don't want anything to do with it.
Alianating users or alien users?
The truth is out there
- Foxy Moulder
Once again a what was once a college project used by a few thousand has morphed into a multi-billion dollar corporate enterprise, sadly those still running it like it's a little college server for a few laughs.
Some people are scum and they will ruin things that most of us are happy to use for a fun. As anyone who works in retail will tell you, it's always the 5% that are the most difficult to deal with but sadly everything has to be geared up to deal with the minority and the trouble they cause, it's never the 95% who will happily just get along with everyone else.
Youtube, like Facebook and Instagram all need to learn to grow up and get serious. These companies have now had at least a minimum of a decade to learn how the real internet works with real people, they need to shape up or just drop it before they go the way of Yahoo and MySpace.
"Following Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, people deleted their accounts, Facebook's growth largely stalled in the U.S. [...]"
Now /that/ would be Good News indeed.
"YouTube has so far skated free of any similar scandals."
Well, that may be because YT's business model is "just" predatory. FB's business model, OTOH, is downright evil.
"But people are paying closer attention than ever before [...]"
I usually tend to be an optimist too, yes.
Youtube's comments are more integral to the service, but if Youtube is going to be have to do more about them then respond to user complaints, they might find it easier to just shut that crap down preemptively.
I know it's possible to disable comments on particular videos, but can there be a "timed allowance" for comments?
Presumably if you're a channel with a reasonably-sized following, most of the views for a video will be shortly after it is posted. Certainly after a month you'll get the majority of the comments. (Of course there is a long tail as well, given that videos can stay up for years.)
However: what is the quality of the comments as time passes? If you have a video up for (e.g.) five years, you have to police the comments on that video for all those years. Multiple that by the number of videos you have.
Would it be useful to be able to say "allow comments for 3 months after the video goes live, then disable"?
Did anything happen to FB? Did they change any practices? Did they stop gathering data from non-members? Did it effect their long term revue or stock?
The answer to all is a "no"... there's no consequences for corporate oligarchs.
Amazing how difficult it is to police freedoms, is it not? Their excuse of, "we're too big to police ourselves" can't work forever.