EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has issued a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai requesting that Alphabet be “very vigilant” in regard to anything posted on YouTube that is associated with Israel-Hamas.
He informed Pichai that Alphabet has a responsibility to safeguard kids and teenagers from “violent content depicting hostage taking and other graphic videos,” noting that the European Commission has noticed a “surge of illegal content and disinformation” being transmitted via specific platforms.
Breton also cautioned Pichai that if the EU notifies Alphabet of any unlawful content, it must respond promptly.
According to Ivy Choi, a spokesman for YouTube, the service has “removed tens of thousands of harmful videos and terminated hundreds of channels” in response to the attacks in Israel and the “conflict now underway in Israel and Gaza.”
She continued, saying that the platform’s technologies “continue to connect people with high-quality news and information.”
She additionally stated that the employees at YouTube are “working around the clock to monitor for harmful footage and remain vigilant to take action quickly if needed on all types of content, including Shorts and livestreams.”
