YouTube wants to stop the spread of borderline content
We all know how aggressive YouTube’s terms of service can be, and we know what happens when we violate them. Regardless, there are videos out there that skirt the line between appropriate and inappropriate. These videos don’t outright violate the terms of service, but they’re close to doing so. This is what youtube calls borderline content. These are the kind of videos that the company believes contributes to the issue of misinformation. Since the videos don’t violate the terms of service, YouTube can’t actually take them down without being in the wrong. So, to combat this, the company could be planning on taking another method. According to Engadget, YouTube could be planning on disabling the share button or breaking the share links. This would make spreading the video’s content a lot harder.
We’re not sure if this will actually happen
A blog post by YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan, states that dealing with borderline content is particularly difficult. It sits firmly in a gray area, and that makes it difficult to pass judgment. Because of this, Mohan says that there’s a possibility that this won’t come to fruition. “We grapple with whether preventing shares may go too far in restricting a viewer’s freedoms.” If YouTube goes around disabling the sharing functionality for videos, there’s no telling what kind of ramifications this could have. This issue is exasperated by the fact that YouTube uses AI to bring the hammer down on videos. Sometimes, its AI algorithms erroneously label videos as inappropriate.
YouTube might take a different approach to this
If YouTube doesn’t want to take that route, the company could be planning on taking other steps to stop the spread of misinformation. Firstly, the company could create different types of labels for videos when there’s a situation still developing. If there’s a lack of credible sources, then those labels will come in handy. YouTube also plans on boosting its partnerships with experts and non-governmental organizations from around the world. Basically, the company will work on being able to detect misinformation easier. Being able to do that will help the whole process a lot more.
