YouTube

==== Sexualization of children and pedophilia ====
{{See also|Elsagate}}

Also in November 2017, it was revealed in the media that many videos featuring children—often uploaded by the minors themselves, and showing innocent content such as the children playing with toys or performing gymnastics—were attracting comments from [[Pedophilia|pedophiles]]<ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/15/16656706/youtube-videos-children-comments YouTube videos of children are plagued by sexual comments], ''[[The Verge]]'', November 15, 2017</ref><ref name="habits">{{cite news |last1=Mostrous |first1=Alexi |last2=Bridge |first2=Mark |last3=Gibbons |first3=Katie |date=November 24, 2017 |title=YouTube adverts fund paedophile habits |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/youtube-adverts-fund-paedophile-habits-fdzfmqlr5 |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> with predators finding the videos through private YouTube playlists or typing in certain keywords in Russian.<ref name="habits" /> Other child-centric videos originally uploaded to YouTube began propagating on the [[dark web]], and uploaded or embedded onto forums known to be used by pedophiles.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tait |first=Amelia |date=April 24, 2016 |title=Why YouTube mums are taking their kids offline |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/observations/2016/04/why-youtube-mums-are-taking-their-kids-offline |access-date=June 21, 2019 |work=[[New Statesman]]}}</ref>

As a result of the controversy, which added to the concern about "Elsagate", several major advertisers whose ads had been running against such videos froze spending on YouTube.<ref name="forbes" /><ref>Todd Spangler, [https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/youtube-ad-boycott-pedophile-sexual-children-videos-1202622790/ YouTube Faces Advertiser Boycott Over Videos With Kids That Attracted Sexual Predators], ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', November 25, 2017</ref> In December 2018, ''[[The Times]]'' found more than 100 grooming cases in which children were manipulated into sexually implicit behavior (such as taking off clothes, adopting overtly sexual poses and touching other children inappropriately) by strangers.<ref name="Paedophiles">{{cite news |author1=Harry Shukman |author2=Mark Bridge |date=December 10, 2018 |title=Paedophiles grooming children live on YouTube |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/paedophiles-grooming-children-live-on-youtube-3fv8gt730 |issn=0140-0460 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210055232/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/paedophiles-grooming-children-live-on-youtube-3fv8gt730 |archive-date=December 10, 2018 |access-date=February 3, 2024}}</ref> After a reporter flagged the videos in question, half of them were removed, and the rest were removed after ''The Times'' contacted YouTube's PR department.<ref name="Paedophiles" />

In February 2019, YouTube vlogger Matt Watson identified a "wormhole" that would cause the YouTube recommendation algorithm to draw users into this type of video content, and make all of that user's recommended content feature only these types of videos.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lieber |first1=Chavie |title=YouTube has a pedophilia problem, and its advertisers are jumping ship |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/27/18241961/youtube-pedophile-ring-child-safety-advertisers-pulling-ads |website=vox.com |date=March 1, 2019}}</ref> Most of these videos had comments from sexual predators commenting with timestamps of when the children were shown in compromising positions or otherwise making indecent remarks. In some cases, other users had re-uploaded the video in unlisted form but with incoming links from other videos, and then monetized these, propagating this network.<ref name="bloomberg mwatson">{{cite news |last1=Bergen |first1=Mark |last2=de Vynck |first2=Gerrit |last3=Palmeri |first3=Christopher |date=February 20, 2019 |title=Nestle, Disney Pull YouTube Ads, Joining Furor Over Child Videos |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/disney-pulls-youtube-ads-amid-concerns-over-child-video-voyeurs |access-date=February 20, 2019 |work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref> In the wake of the controversy, the service reported that they had deleted over 400 channels and tens of millions of comments, and reported the offending users to law enforcement and the [[National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]]. A spokesperson explained that "any content—including comments—that endangers minors is abhorrent and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube. There's more to be done, and we continue to work to improve and catch abuse more quickly."<ref>{{cite web |last=Alexander |first=Julia |date=February 21, 2019 |title=YouTube terminates more than 400 channels following child exploitation controversy |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/21/18234494/youtube-child-exploitation-channel-termination-comments-philip-defranco-creators |access-date=February 21, 2019 |work=[[The Verge]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brodkin |first=Jon |date=February 21, 2019 |title=YouTube loses advertisers over 'wormhole into pedophilia ring' |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/02/youtube-loses-advertisers-over-wormhole-into-pedophilia-ring/ |access-date=February 22, 2019 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref> Despite these measures, [[AT&T]], [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], [[Dr. Oetker]], [[Epic Games]], and [[Nestlé]] all pulled their advertising from YouTube.<ref name="bloomberg mwatson" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Haselton |first1=Todd |last2=Salinas |first2=Sara |date=February 21, 2019 |title=As fallout over pedophilia content on YouTube continues, AT&T pulls all advertisements |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/att-pulls-all-ads-from-youtube-pedophilia-controversy.html |access-date=February 21, 2019 |publisher=[[CNBC]]}}</ref>

Subsequently, YouTube began to demonetize and block advertising on the types of videos that have drawn these predatory comments. The service explained that this was a temporary measure while they explore other methods to eliminate the problem.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ingraham |first=Nathan |date=February 22, 2019 |title=YouTube is proactively blocking ads on videos prone to predatory comments |url=https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/22/youtube-blocking-ads-on-videos-predatory-comments/ |access-date=February 22, 2019 |work=[[Engadget]]}}</ref> YouTube also began to flag channels that predominantly feature children, and preemptively disable their comments sections. "Trusted partners" can request that comments be re-enabled, but the channel will then become responsible for moderating comments. These actions mainly target videos of toddlers, but videos of older children and teenagers may be protected as well if they contain actions that can be interpreted as sexual, such as gymnastics. YouTube stated it was also working on a better system to remove comments on other channels that matched the style of child predators.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fox |first=Chris |date=February 28, 2019 |title=YouTube bans comments on all videos of kids |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47408969 |access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Alexander |first=Julia |date=February 28, 2019 |title=YouTube is disabling comments on almost all videos featuring children |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/18244954/youtube-comments-minor-children-exploitation-monetization-creators |access-date=February 28, 2019 |work=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>

A related attempt to algorithmically flag videos containing references to the string "CP" (an abbreviation of [[child pornography]]) resulted in some prominent false positives involving unrelated topics using the same abbreviation, including videos related to the mobile video game ''[[Pokémon Go]]'' (which uses "CP" as an abbreviation of the statistic "Combat Power"), and ''[[Club Penguin]]''. YouTube apologized for the errors and reinstated the affected videos.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gerken |first=Tom |date=February 19, 2019 |title=YouTube backtracks after Pokemon 'child abuse' ban |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47278362 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Separately, online trolls have attempted to have videos flagged for takedown or removal by commenting with statements similar to what the child predators had said; this activity became an issue during the [[PewDiePie vs T-Series]] rivalry in early 2019. YouTube stated they do not take action on any video with these comments but those that they have flagged that are likely to draw child predator activity.<ref>{{cite web |last=Alexander |first=Julia |date=February 28, 2019 |title=Trolls are lying about child porn to try to get YouTube channels taken down |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/18241925/youtube-creator-comments-weaponized-trolling-child-exploitation-lies-controversy-lies |access-date=February 28, 2019 |work=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>

In June 2019, ''The New York Times'' cited researchers who found that users who watched erotic videos could be recommended seemingly innocuous videos of children.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Max |last2=Taub |first2=Amanda |date=June 3, 2019 |title=On YouTube's Digital Playground, an Open Gate for Pedophiles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/americas/youtube-pedophiles.html |access-date=June 6, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> As a result, Senator [[Josh Hawley]] stated plans to introduce federal legislation that would ban YouTube and other video sharing sites from including videos that predominantly feature minors as "recommended" videos, excluding those that were "professionally produced", such as videos of televised talent shows.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ingraham |first=Nathan |date=June 6, 2019 |title=A Senator wants to stop YouTube from recommending videos featuring minors |url=https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/06/senator-youtube-bill-stop-featuring-minors-in-recommendations/ |access-date=June 6, 2019 |work=[[Engadget]]}}</ref> YouTube has suggested potential plans to remove all videos featuring children from the main YouTube site and transferring them to the [[YouTube Kids]] site where they would have stronger controls over the recommendation system, as well as other major changes on the main YouTube site to the recommended feature and auto-play system.<ref>{{cite web |last=Copeland |first=Rob |date=June 19, 2019 |title=YouTube, Under Fire, Considers Major Changes to Kids' Content |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/youtube-under-fire-considers-major-changes-to-kids-content-11560953721 |access-date=June 19, 2019 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>