YouTube wants to make sure offensive content doesn't make it to the screens of people viewing videos. Doing so begs a question, though: who gets to decide what is offensive and what isn't? Apparently, someone with the ability to make that decision has deemed LGBTQ content producers to be offensive in the "Restricted Mode" setting.
Controversial mode
The "Restricted Mode" is meant to prevent YouTube users from watching content that could be considered pornographic, explicit, or otherwise offensive. In the "Support" section of the website, tenets such as community flagging and age restrictions are set out to help the feature work properly.
There is no mention of the fact that videos from LGBTQ members could be filtered out through the mechanism.
Social media sites are not new to this issue. Most recently, Facebook has had to respond to claims that their "Trending" feature filtered out conservative news, feeding into the "fake news" narrative that has gripped the country. The YouTube issue may be worse, though - while Facebook was arguably making editorial decisions for users, it can be argued that the video sharing website is blatantly discriminating against the LGBTQ community through the "Restricted Mode."
YouTube users respond
Tyler Oakley is one of the most prominent stars on YouTube. He also identifies as part of the LGBTQ community and helped to bring the issue of the "Restricted Mode" to light.
On Twitter, he discussed how a video honoring black members of the queer community was banned under the mode, rendering people unable to watch the touching tribute.
Turning on certain filters associated with "Restricted Mode" block the LGBTQ content. YouTube star SeaineLove, who identifies as trans, noticed that her videos were blocked as soon as somebody turns the age restriction on.
Other less prominent content creators have reported similar problems over the course of the day. Hopefully, the managers of the site will quickly rectify this situation before it becomes a full-blown scandal.
