YouTube has grown so much that it needs new rules to handle "bad actors," its chief product officer claims. The company recently announced
it would block racist content and disinformation amid accusations of biased censorship.
"YouTube has now grown to a big city. More bad actors have come into place. And just like in any big city, you need a new set of rules and laws and kind of regulatory regime," Neal Mohan told AFP.
The video platform and other tech companies are facing scrutiny and calls for regulation for their apparent failure to shut down content promoting hate speech, disinformation and the exploitation of minors.
They are also accused of biased censorship which silences free speech, and of failing to enforce their own rules.
"We want to make sure that YouTube remains an open platform because that's where a lot of the magic comes from, even though there may be some opinions and voices on the platform that I don't agree with, that you don't agree with," Mohan said.
The company has faced a series of recent controversies, including an "Adpocalypse" (when major advertisers pull their ads) when it was revealed that an algorithm was directing users to videos of children which pedophiles were using to express their sexual thoughts in the comments and to share links to child porn. Many of the videos were monetized.
Comment: Ironically, with these policies - many of which are already in practice - YouTube is becoming more like the propaganda wing of a totalitarian fascist or communist regime.