YouTube loses advertisers instead of "making a vicious cycle of pedophilia"

YouTube loses advertising from Fortnite manufacturer Epic Games, Disney and other companies because of the broadcast of ads alongside videos shared by pedophiles.

YouTube told Ars that it took action against users breaking its rules this week, including ending more than 400 channels, deleting accounts, and disabling comments on tens of millions of videos. YouTube said it also reported illegal content to the authorities, but the company said it had more to do. We asked YouTube if she had identified problems in her algorithms that had contributed to the problem but had not received an answer to this question.

"All Nestlé companies in the United States have taken a break from advertising on YouTube, said a company spokeswoman Wednesday in an email," said Bloomberg. Epic Games Inc., a video game maker and German packaged food giant, Dr. August Oetker KG, also said that they had deferred YouTube's spending after their ads ran before the videos were released. Disney also withheld these expenses issue, which asked not to be identified because the decision was not made public.

"Wormhole in a soft-core pedophile ring"

The companies fired a few days after YouTuber Matt Watson released a video describing what he calls "a vortex in a soft-core pedophile network on YouTube."

"The algorithm recommended by YouTube facilitates the ability of pedophiles to connect to each other, commercial contact information and links to real websites. [child pornography] in the comments, "Watson reported." I can still access them from vanilla YouTube accounts, never used before, via harmless videos in less than ten minutes, sometimes in less than five clicks. "

To access the "wormhole", Watson first searched for "bikini transport" and then clicked on the recommended videos in the "Next" section of YouTube. In a few clicks, he was led to videos of young girls. The original videos were not meant to be pornographic, but users in the comments section posted timestamps on "video points where little girls hold compromising positions," Watson explained.

"Once you enter this wormhole, no other content is available," Watson said in his video, which garnered nearly two million views. "The YouTube algorithm is such that these videos do not exist, so it makes it easier for pedophiles to search for content, but more importantly … share contact information on social media and j & ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # I've also found links to child pornography, and of course some of these videos are advertising. "

Extensive Wired UK The story released yesterday also provided details about the problem.

"Children's videos showing their exposed buttocks, underwear and genitals are accumulating millions of views on YouTube, the site displaying ads from leading brands of cosmetics and cars." Wired UK wrote. "The comments under dozens of videos seem to show that pedophiles share timestamps for parts of videos where the genitals are visible, or when a child splits or raises the top of his head to show his nipples. .. Videos are also monetized by YouTube, including pre-roll ads from Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fortnite, Grammarly, The Oreal, Maybelline, Metro: Exodus, Peloton and SingleMuslims.com. Banner ads for Google and the Global Business Forum have also appeared alongside some videos. "

YouTube details actions against users

When Ars contacted Ars, a spokesperson for YouTube said: "All content – including comments – endangering minors is hateful and we have clear policies banning this on YouTube." We immediately took action by removing accounts and channels, reporting unlawful activities to authorities and disabling comments on tens of millions of videos including minors, there is still a lot of work to be done and we continue to work to improve and catch the abuse more quickly. "

YouTube, a company owned by Google's Alphabet, said that in the last 48 hours it had removed thousands of inappropriate comments on videos from minors, ended more than 400 channels of comments left on videos, has reported illegal comments to the National Center for Missing. & Exploited Children, and removed dozens of videos that put young people at risk while posted with innocent intentions.

In the meantime, YouTube continues to face the pressure of advertisers. "Through our advertising agency, we have contacted Google / YouTube to determine the actions to be taken to eliminate this type of content from their service," said Epic Games, according to CNBC.