YouTube is letting users flag videos that “promote terrorism” after law makers criticised the video site for allowing videos containing propaganda and militant speeches to go online.
According to the LA Times, politicians have been lobbying the site to moderate the number of videos uploaded that promote terrorism or violent extremism.
YouTube will now let the user decide whether or not the video is terrorist propaganda or not. It will be similar to how users flag a video for containing sexual activity or animal abuse.
The move has seen mixed reactions. Senator Joe Lieberman sees the move as a “good first step” but felt it shouldn’t have taken lobbying to implement such a measure.
However, George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen found it “potentially troubling,” as determining whether or not a video promotes terrorism can be subjective than the terms in YouTube’s guidelines which strictly prevents encouraging people to commit violent acts.
