YouTube "tightening and enforcing" policies toward content creators
“We realise we have a serious social responsibility to get these emerging policy issues right," says CEO
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has announced plans to increase the number of staff responsible for managing content on the video platform to 10,000 in 2018.
In a blog post, Wojcicki highlighted the need to improve enforcement of the YouTube's policies. Her comments follow a recent spate of controversy and long standing concerns from the community.
"Some of our policies are no-brainers, like preventing people from impersonating other channels or using misleading thumbnails," she said. "But others are far more nuanced and unique to YouTube."
Speaking in vague but deliberate terms, Wojcicki alluded to the direction she will be taking YouTube in the coming year, particularly in regards to content creators who defy the platforms upload policies.
"We're also currently developing policies that would lead to consequences if a creator does something egregious that causes significant harm to our community as a whole," she said.
"While these instances are rare, they can damage the reputation and revenue of your fellow creators, so we want to make sure we have policies in place that allow us to respond appropriately."
One of the more notable recent controversy came after gaming YouTube celebrity Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg ignited controversy last year when he uploaded a number of videos featuring racist and anti-semitic content.
The incident was followed by a mass exodus of major advertisers from YouTube and, as one of the most popular children's entertainers in the modern era, critics were quick to call for stricter regulations on the platform.
"We realise we have a serious social responsibility to get these emerging policy issues right, so we seek advice from dozens of expert advisors and third-parties," said Wojcicki.
"For example, on issues of hate speech we work with the Anti-Defamation League in the U.S. and on issues of self-harm, we work with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. These third-parties have been essential in helping us refine our policies and we will continue to work with them throughout 2018."