YouTube maintains 'community guidelines' and removes videos that
are flagged by users as violating them. According to the site:
"YouTube staff review flagged videos 24 hours a day, seven days a
week to determine whether they violate our Community Guidelines.
When they do, we remove them."
Those guidelines banned videos containing sex or nudity; hate
speech; shocking or disgusting content; dangerous or illegal acts;
copyright violations or inappropriate material involving
children.
The company has now increased the range of activities that are
barred to include, amongst other things, invasions of privacy.
"If a video you've recorded features people who are readily
identifiable and who haven't consented to being filmed, there's a
chance they'll file a privacy complaint seeking its removal," say
its new guidelines. "Don't post other people's personal
information, including phone numbers, addresses, credit card
numbers, and government IDs. We're serious about keeping our users
safe and suspend accounts that violate people's privacy."
It also said that material designed to harass people was not
welcome. "If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it on
YouTube," say the new guidelines. "And if you're looking to attack,
harass, demean, or impersonate others, go elsewhere."
"Impersonating another user by copying someone's exact channel
layout, using a similar username, or posing as that person in
comments, emails or videos is considered harassment. If you want to
keep your account, stay away from participating in any form of
impersonation or harassing activity on the site," say the new
rules.
The new guidelines also seek to govern the behaviour of people
reacting to videos, not just to those posting them.
"Users shouldn't feel threatened when they're on YouTube," they
say. "Don't leave threatening comments on other people's
videos."
A YouTube spokesman said that the expansion of the guidelines
was not "a new policy or a change to our Community Guidelines but
rather additional explanatory material to help our users understand
the Community Guidelines".
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