James Delahunty
1 Sep 2019 19:22
Earlier this week, YouTube had removed popular accounts from its service citing infringement of its rules on hate speech and conduct. It then reversed its decision for some.
Among the accounts were that of an anonymous British user called 'The Iconoclast', and another from a reportedly right-wing figure called Martin Sellner. The latter has been banned from entering the United Kingdom, according to a BBC report, which also says Austrian police are looking into reports that Sellner was in contact with the Christchurch mosque attacker. Sellner absolutely denies any links to the atrocity.
Both of the accounts were reinstated on Thursday with YouTube saying it had made the wrong call. On Friday, the decision was clarified by Farshad Shadloo, who is responsible for global products policy communications at YouTube. According to Shadloo, the channels had not broken any of its rules.
The comments followed a letter from YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki to videomakers, in which she stressed that YouTube must remain an open platform. "A commitment to openness is not easy. It sometimes means leaving up content that is outside the mainstream, controversial or even offensive," she wrote.
"Hearing a broad range of perspectives ultimately makes us a stronger and more informed society."