Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion, NBC News (Oct. 9, 2006), https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15196982.
Viacom sued YouTube over the display of copyrighted material on YouTube. Bill Cammack, Viacom Sues YouTube, Fast Company (Mar. 13, 2007), https://www.fastcompany.com/659911/viacom-sues-youtube.
In the case of Viacom v. YouTube, the district court ordered YouTube to hand over "all data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website". Information in the logging database contains "each instance a video is watched, the unique “login ID” of the user who watched it, the time when the user started to watch the video, the internet protocol address other devices connected to the internet use to identify the user’s computer (“IP address”), and the identifier for the video." Kurt Opsahl, Court Ruling Will Expose Viewing Habits of YouTube Users, Electronic Frontier Foundation (July 2, 2008), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/court-ruling-will-expose-viewing-habits-youtube-us.
In the Viacom v. YouTube case, the district court granted summary judgment to YouTube. Viacom will appeal this decision. Viacom v. YouTube, Electronic Frontier Foundation (last visited on Aug. 24, 2021), https://www.eff.org/cases/viacom-v-youtube.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor for Viacom in the case of Viacom v. YouTube. However, it's finding was only that YouTube could be liable for any infringing content that it was "willfully blind" towards, and made it clear that YouTube did not have a duty to monitor user activity. Additionally, the court found that YouTube could be liable if it had exerted "substantial influence" on users' infringing activities. With these findings in mind, the Court remanded the case back to the district court. Corynne McSherry, Viacom v. Google: A Decision at Last, and It's Mostly Good (for the Internet and Innovation), Electronic Frontier Foundation (Apr. 5, 2012), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/04/viacom-v-google-decision.
On remand in the Viacom v. YouTube case, the district court found that YouTube was protected from copyright infringement in this instance due to Section 512 of the DMCA, the safe harbor provision. Viacom will appeal this decision. Corynne McSherry, Another Legal Victory for YouTube: When Will Viacom Wise Up and Walk Away?, Electronic Frontier Foundation (Apr. 18, 2013), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/04/victory-youtube-viacom-v-youtube-case-anyone-think.
Before the case made its way to the appellate court once again, YouTube settled with Viacom. Details of the settlement are not known, but one source says no money was involved. Ellen Huet, Google, Viacom Settle Suit Over YouTube, Stanford Law School (Mar. 19, 2014), https://law.stanford.edu/press/google-viacom-settle-suit-over-youtube/.
A recent trend involves inappropriate videos proliferating on YouTube Kids. These videos often include children's television or movie characters from cartoons like Paw Patrol of Peppa Pig in violent or lewd situations. Somehow, these videos are making past YouTube Kids' content filters and traumatizing children. Sapna Maheshwari, On YouTube Kids, Startling Videos Slip Past Filters, N.Y. Times (Nov. 4, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/business/media/youtube-kids-paw-patrol.html?_r=0.
While investigating YouTube, the Wall Street Journal found that YouTube's algorithms would often recommend extremist content. "YouTube’s recommendations often lead users to channels that feature conspiracy theories, partisan viewpoints and misleading videos, even when those users haven’t shown interest in such content. When users show a political bias in what they choose to view, YouTube typically recommends videos that echo those biases, often with more-extreme viewpoints." This is especially dangerous when noted in conjunction with the fact that YouTube's recommendations account for 70% of user viewing time. Jack Nicas, ow YouTube Drives People to the Internet’s Darkest Corners, Wall Street Journal (Feb. 7, 2018),https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-youtube-drives-viewers-to-the-internets-darkest-corners-1518020478.
More than 20 children's advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against YouTube for illegally harvesting children's data in violation of COPPA. Sarah Perez, Over 20 advocacy groups complain to FTC that YouTube is violating children’s privacy law, TechCrunch (Apr. 9, 2018),https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/09/over-20-advocacy-groups-complain-to-ftc-that-youtube-is-violating-childrens-privacy-law/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKsc61JdVacDNeCUK0geY0sBDntS-Dct8Io7kKA6E8TD81jKmDfOYGJIVkIm9HdvAfZNuTRj215FObMMj1vY4Yqa_h76KKOIHDVyW2KFpUbm2S_Ws-m62TvuYd64fhsbhlVSeHt-1ypd2d5KMVEFhpz9yLsxzRAkXpHN5Ododngs.
YouTube made a statement claiming it would not promote as many videos about conspiracy theories or containing misinformation. Specifically, YouTube says it will no longer recommend "borderline content", or content that is on the border of violating its community guidelines. Casey Newton, YouTube says it will recommend fewer videos about conspiracy theories, The Verge (Jan. 25, 2019),https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/25/18197301/youtube-algorithm-conspiracy-theories-misinformation.
At&T and Hasbro pulled their ads on YouTube after reports surfaced that pedophiles were using YouTube to objectify children, sometimes making timestamps on children's' videos that included nudity. The day before, Nestle and Epic Games pulled some of their advertising, and Disney paused its ads as well. Todd Haselton & Sara Salinas, As fallout over pedophilia content on YouTube continues, AT&T and Hasbro pull all advertisements, CNBC News (Feb. 21, 2019), https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/att-pulls-all-ads-from-youtube-pedophilia-controversy.html.
After Vox host Carlos Maza rallied support against right wing pundit Steven Crowder for his racist and homophobic harassment of Maza, YouTube temporarily suspended Crowder's ability to run ads on his channel. YouTube stated Crowder could runs ads again once he "addresses all of the issues with his channel", including removing links to his store where he sells shirts with homophobic slurs. Julia Alexander, YouTube revokes ads from Steven Crowder until he stops linking to his homophobic T-shirts, The Verge (June 5, 2019), https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/5/18654196/steven-crowder-demonetized-carlos-maza-youtube-homophobic-language-ads.
YouTube changed its community guidelines "to ban videos promoting the superiority of any group as a justification for discrimination against others based on their age, gender, race, caste, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status". Casey Newton, YouTube just banned supremacist content, and thousands of channels are about to be removed, The Verge (June 5, 2019), https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/5/18652576/youtube-supremacist-content-ban-borderline-extremist-terms-of-service.
Right wing pundit Steven Crowder repeatedly used homophobic and racist language against Vox host Carlos Maza. Maza had petitioned the site to take action against Crowder's channel for this harassment, but YouTube found decided that Crowder's repeated remarks did not constitute harassment. Nick Statt, YouTube decides that homophobic harassment does not violate its policies, The Verge (June 4, 2019), https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/4/18653088/youtube-steven-crowder-carlos-maza-harassment-bullying-enforcement-verdict.
Several LGBTQ social media stars sued YouTube for discriminating against the LGBTQ community by restricting their content from monetization and limited its distribution. The distribution is being limited by YouTube often applying age-restricted filters to videos featuring LGBTQ individuals. YouTube claims it applies the same policies to all accounts, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Kaya Yurieff, YouTube sued for allegedly discriminating against LGBTQ community, CNN (Aug. 15, 2019), https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/15/tech/youtube-lawsuit-lgbtq/index.html.
YouTube sued Christopher Brady, a man who allegedly would submit false DMCA claims against YouTubers, ask them for money in exchange for revoking the DMCA claims, and, if the YouTubers instead filed a counter-notice (containing their address), he would allegedly swat them. Katharine Trendacosta, YouTube's New Lawsuit Shows Just How Far Copyright Trolls Have to Go Before They're Stopped, Electronic Frontier Foundation (Aug. 21, 2019), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/youtubes-new-lawsuit-shows-just-how-far-copyright-trolls-have-go-theyre-stopped.
The Federal Trade Commission fined YouTube $136 million for collecting children's personal data without obtaining parental consent. Additionally, New York state fined YouTube $34 million for similar charges. YouTube fined $170m for collecting children's personal data, The Guardian (Sep. 4, 2019), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/04/youtube-kids-fine-personal-data-collection-children-.
Christopher Brady, a copyright troll sued by YouTube two months prior, agreed to pay YouTube $25,000 to settle the case against him. Brady also signed a public apology where he admitted to at least some of his misdeeds. Timothy B. Lee, Man agrees to pay $25,000 for abusing YouTube’s takedown system, ars Technica (Oct. 15, 2019), https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/10/man-agrees-to-pay-25000-for-abusing-youtubes-takedown-system/.
YouTube updated its community guidelines to ban the following content: "Content that has been technically manipulated or doctored in a way that misleads users (beyond clips taken out of context) and may pose a serious risk of egregious harm; for example, a video that has been technically manipulated to make it appear that a government official is dead. Content that aims to mislead people about voting or the census processes, like telling viewers an incorrect voting date. Content that advances false claims related to the technical eligibility requirements for current political candidates and sitting elected government officials to serve in office, such as claims that a candidate is not eligible to hold office based on false information about citizenship status requirements to hold office in that country." How YouTube supports elections, Leslie Miler, YouTube Official Blog (Feb. 3, 2020), https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/how-youtube-supports-elections.
Previously YouTube would recommend videos linking COVID-19 symptoms to 5G less often than other types of videos, but now it has shifted to instead deleting them outright. Leo Kelion, Coronavirus: YouTube tightens rules after David Icke 5G interview, BBC (Apr. 7, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52198946.
After being introduced in Brazil and India a year prior, YouTube will begin adding fact-check panels to American searches as well. These fact-check panels will appear above search results when the search is specific enough to trigger them. Over a dozen organizations are participating in the network of fact-checkers, including PolitiFact and The Washington Post. Casey Newton, YouTube brings fact-check panels to searches in the United States, The Verge (Apr. 28, 2020), https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21239792/youtube-fact-check-panels-videos-united-states-misinformation-covid-coronavirus.
Security researchers found a database containing scraped data from 235 million profiles on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Of those 235 million, YouTube account for only 4 million. Anthony Spadafora, Hundreds of millions of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube accounts compromised by data breach, TechRadar (Aug. 21, 2020), https://www.techradar.com/news/hundreds-of-millions-of-instagram-tiktok-youtube-accounts-compromised-by-data-breach.
A class action filed in the UK accused YouTube of violating the UK's Data Protection Act as well as the GDPR. The lawsuit accuses YouTube of collecting children's data without parental consent. YouTube stated "YouTube is not for children under the age of 13." YouTube faces legal battle over British children's privacy, BBC (Sep. 13, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54140676.
A former YouTube content moderator sued YouTube. They allege that their job required them going through so much disturbing content, such as child abuse, beheading, and "people eating from a smashed open skull", that they have since developed symptoms consistent with depression and PTSD. Thomas Kika, YouTube Moderation Might Be Causing PTSD In Human Workers, International Business Times (Sep. 22, 2020), https://www.ibtimes.com/youtube-moderation-might-be-causing-ptsd-human-workers-3049931.
YouTube banned misinformation about COVID vaccines. Claims that the vaccines contain microchips or may cause infertility are now banned from YouTube, as well as any other falsities that contradict local authorities or the WHO. Alex Hern, YouTube bans misinformation about Covid vaccinations, The Guardian (Oct. 14, 2020), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/14/youtube-bans-misinformation-about-covid-vaccinations.
One American News Network posted a YouTube video claiming "there is a guaranteed cure for COVID-19." YouTube banned the channel for a week, and demonetized their videos until they address "deeper issues with [their] content." Cullen Paradis, Conservative One America News Network Banned From YouTube Over Fake COVID-19 Cure, International Business Times (Nov. 25, 2020), https://www.ibtimes.com/conservative-one-america-news-network-banned-youtube-over-fake-covid-19-cure-3089366.
YouTube has started deleting videos posted from December 9 forward that dispute that allege "widespread fraud or errors" had an effect on the 2020 US Presidential Election. The date was chosen because the election was certified on December 8. J. Fingas, YouTube will remove videos disputing the 2020 presidential election, engadget (Dec. 9, 2020), https://www.engadget.com/youtube-removes-videos-with-us-election-fraud-claims-154726251.html.
Following the Capitol Insurrection, YouTube has banned President Trump's account from posting new videos for at least seven days. The ban came after YouTube removed one of his videos that they say incited violence. Additionally, YouTube disabled all comments under President Trump's videos indefinitely. Tyler Sonnemaker & Hugh Langley, YouTube removes Trump content and bans him from uploading new videos for a minimum of 7 days, citing 'ongoing potential for violence', Business Insider (Jan. 12, 2021), https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-bans-trump-from-posting-new-videos-for-one-week-2021-1.
The Truth About Vaccines, one of the major vaccine disinformation distributors online, was finally taken down by YouTube. Confusingly, its sister channel, The Truth About Cancer, remained up, despite having videos with the same anti-vaccine rhetoric and disinformation. MIchelle R. Smith, Seller of vaccine disinformation has YouTube channel removed, ABC News (May 19, 2021),https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/seller-vaccine-disinformation-youtube-channel-removed-77787983.
Former President Trump asked a judge for a preliminary injunction to compel YouTube to allow him to upload videos again. Morgan Phillips, Trump calls on YouTube to reinstate his access because of the 'irreparable harm' a continued ban would be to a 'potential political candidate and the Republican Party', Daily Mail (Aug. 24, 2021), https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9922883/Trump-calls-YouTube-reinstate-access-harm-continued-ban-be.html.
YouTube removes the dislike counter from its platform. Internally they can still see the dislikes, but users cannot. YouTube claim it is to combat harassment on its site. Many users are upset about this decision, and more still worry that this will make it hard to distinguish good and bad how-to videos, as well as similar types of videos. Peter Suciu, Youtube Removed 'Dislikes' Button - It Could Impact 'How To' And 'Crafts' Videos, Forbes (Nov 24, 2021), https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2021/11/24/youtube-removed-dislikes-button--it-could-impact-how-to-and-crafts-videos/?sh=45e432225a53.
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