SINGAPORE – YouTube is adding extra eyes from social service outfits such as Samaritans of Singapore and Touch Community Services to flag harmful videos on the platform.
Content flagged by these community partners will be prioritised for review by Google, which runs YouTube. Google will also train the volunteers on how to report online harms efficiently according to the platform’s guidelines.
The YouTube Priority Flagger Programme kicks off with four social enterprises – Limitless, Samaritans of Singapore, SG Her Empowerment (SHE) and Touch Community Services – Google announced on Friday at the Safer With Google conference held in its Mapletree Business City office.
The four partners join a list of around 300 organisations worldwide that will work with YouTube, amid increasing calls to crack down on online content, especially those that could harm young users.
Regional director for YouTube Ajay Vidyasagar said the groups chosen have expertise in looking out for content related to child safety, cyber bullying, harassment, self-harm and suicide. YouTube welcomes more organisations to join the network, he added.
Content flagged by these groups will land at the top of the pile to be reviewed by Google, which removed more than 35,000 videos in Singapore between January and March, said Mr Vidyasagar.
In that time, more than 6.4 million YouTube videos were taken down worldwide for violating its guidelines, he added. Google could not disclose the amount of content flagged to YouTube daily.
Content picked out by priority flaggers is not automatically removed and is subject to the same treatment as videos flagged by the public. “But, because of their high degree of accuracy, our teams prioritise flags from priority flaggers for review,” said Mr Vidyasagar.
A similar community flagging programme was also announced for partners to report potential phishing sites and malware hosted on Google’s network. The Singapore Police Force is among its first priority flaggers.
Google Singapore managing director Ben King said that Google’s artificial intelligence and content moderators also keep watch over the platform, but “priority flaggers are experts in a particular category like scams or child abuse”.
“(They) become particularly important in helping us to localise and have the right approach in a particular country.”
Staff members from the Samaritans will help to look out for harmful content circulating on YouTube as part of their job, its chief executive Gasper Tan told The Straits Times, adding that its pool of 400 volunteers can also alert the charity if they spot a problematic video.
“Common flagged videos include graphic or explicit depictions, and are often highly distressing or triggering for vulnerable individuals,” said Mr Tan. “Being a part of this initiative has been a very easy decision.”
