YouTube updates 'restricted mode' policy that blocked 12 MILLION LGBT videos last month
- YouTube's 'restricted mode' was introduced to filter out mature content
- But several prominent LGBT users complained their videos had been removed
- YouTube has admitted the system was 'not working as intended'
- The site has made the 12 million videos that were unfairly removed live again
Last month, YouTube came under fire after several claims were made that the site had blocked lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) videos.
'Restricted Mode' was introduced in a bid to filter out mature content, but many prominent LGBT YouTubers claimed their innocent videos had been targeted.
YouTube has admitted that the system was 'not working as intended' and says that the update will ensure that LGBT content will not be filtered out.
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'Restricted Mode' was introduced in a bid to filter out mature content, but many prominent LGBT YouTubers claimed their innocent videos had been targeted. YouTube has admitted that the system was 'not working as intended' and says that the update will ensure that LGBT content will not be filtered out
In March, several YouTubers alerted the site that their videos had been unfairly targeted by Restricted Mode.
They had seen a drop in advertising revenue, and realised their content was being blocked.
The filter appeared to block videos referring to sexuality and gender identity - even if the content was not explicit.
Bry O'Reilly, a musician with more than 380,000 subscribers on YouTube tweeted: 'YouTube's restricted mode has blocked a poem I wrote for a gay friend.'
And Tyler Oakley, whose channel boasts almost eight million subscribers said: 'One of my recent videos "Eight Black LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Who Inspire Me2 is blocked because of this, I'm perplexed.'
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In a blog post, Johanna Wright, VP of Product Management at YouTube admitted that the systems 'were not working as intended.'
Ms Wright wrote: 'We want to clarify that restricted mode should not filter out content belonging to individuals or groups based on certain attributes like gender, gender identity, political viewpoints, race, religion or sexual orientation.'
YouTube says it has now fixed the error and made more than 12 million 'unintentionally filtered' videos available again.
Bry O'Reilly, a musician with more than 380,000 subscribers on YouTube tweeted: 'YouTube's restricted mode has blocked a poem I wrote for a gay friend'
And Tyler Oakley, whose channel boasts almost 8 million subscribers said: 'One of my recent videos 'Eight Black LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Who Inspire Me' is blocked because of this, I'm perplexed'
The firm added that it would allow people to report videos they believed had been restricted unfairly, and would be clearer about the types of content filtered.
Content that will still be restricted includes the discussion of alcohol and drugs, conversations about sex, and graphic depictions of violence.
Ms Wright added: 'Though Restricted Mode will never be perfect, we hope to build on our progress so far to continue making our systems more accurate and the overall Restricted Mode experience better over time.'
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