(New York, NY) – Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen released the following statement today in response to Google-owned YouTube’s delayed decision to crack down on dangerous, viral challenges and pranks, while allowing numerous examples of extremist content to remain on its platform:
“YouTube’s reactionary response to ‘harmful and dangerous content’ deriving from online pranks is part of its long history of too little, too late, responses. Just as in the case of extremist and terror content, YouTube’s reluctance to remove egregious content -- or to even take it seriously until after the damage has been done – is dangerous and costs lives. For too long, Google and YouTube have been able to shirk responsibility for what happens on their website. We hope this is a wake-up call and an acknowledgment of failure in other areas as well.”
In September, CEP released a study that found YouTube’s efforts to proactively remove extremist content from its platform were failing. The report, which utilized an online web crawler and CEP’s own hashing technology – eGLYPH– called into question YouTube’s claims of being able to remove ISIS videos quickly and effectively. Using a narrow set of 229 previously-identified ISIS terror-related videos, CEP found that over a three-month period, no less than 1,348 videos were uploaded via 278 separate accounts, garnering at least 163,000 views.
In August, CEP released the report, “OK Google, Show Me Extremism,” which found that ISIS and other extremist groups, as well as their online supporters, have continued to exploit and misuse Google’s platforms to disseminate propaganda material, despite the company having repeatedly announced increased measures to combat online extremism. The result of CEP’s searches highlights the extent of the enduring problem of terrorist content on YouTube and undermines claims touting the efficacy of the company’s efforts to combat online extremism.
In May, CEP documented instances in which Google / YouTube made express policy changes following public accusations, a scandal or pressure from lawmakers. While one would hope that Google is continuously working to improve security on YouTube and its other platforms, there is no excuse as to why so many policy changes have been reactionary, and it raises the question as to what other scandals are in the making due to still-undiscovered lapses in Google’s current policies.