YouTube, one of the services owned by Google recently removed several “Pokemon GO” YouTube Channels due to content violations. During the fourth quarter of 2018, the streaming site deleted five million videos while in the third quarter of the same year, it deleted 58 million videos. According to YouTube, it is trying to ensure that its platform remains as clean as possible.
CP acronym
According to Kotaku, YouTube recently took down the accounts of “Pokemon GO” YouTubers, stating that they violated their content policy. This action resulted in the deletion of the channel of these YouTubers, and the inability to access their various Gmail accounts.
However, these YouTubers were not in any way found guilty of the crime they were accused of as none of their videos appeared to feature any sexual content.
Unfortunately, CP acronym which is commonly used in mobile games was misinterpreted by the YouTube algorithm. According to Techspot, in “Pokemon GO,” CP simply means combat points which is used to measure the strength of a pokemon in battle, while in another context, it can be used as an acronym for other mobile games such as "Club Penguins." According to YouTube’s interpretation, it's an acronym for a word that sexualizes minors. Google has admitted that the takedown was a mistake. However, the affected YouTubers took to social media to complain.
Affected YouTubers reactions
The affected YouTubers have been reacting all over social media. According to one of the popular “Pokemon GO” YouTubers, Oyzon, the reporting algorithm lacks context and for this reason, needs better control. He went further, stating that account termination should not be left to the algorithm to decide.
When it detects a problem, a human should review the title and watch the video to be sure it truly violates the content policy before account termination.
Another “Pokemon GO” YouTuber took to Twitter to question if YouTube representatives play the game. In fact, Nick Oyzon of Trainer Tips went further to explain to YouTube representatives @TeamYouTube that the acronym CP simply meant combat points.
Although the affected YouTubers’ accounts have been reinstated, people are still complaining about how unfair YouTube has been treating its users, knowing full well that most of them depend on the medium to survive.
In a recent report, YouTube reminded YouTubers that their Community Guidelines are for everyone using the video-sharing site and anyone who doesn’t stick to it would face the consequences. However, YouTube has also announced that there will be a change in the way it gives strikes to its users.
