YouTube unveils stricter anti-harassment policy after criticism

YouTube says it will ban "veiled or implied threats" and malicious insults based on protected attributes under its tougher new anti-harassment policy.

The platform on Wednesday rolled out its policy update after in June promising to "re-examine" how it addresses harassment on the site. YouTube was facing criticism at the time especially after Vox journalist Carlos Maza called attention to Steven Crowder's repeated attacks in multiple videos that mocked Maza's sexual orientation and ethnicity.

At the time, YouTube said Crowder's videos didn't violate its policies. But YouTube now says it will "no longer allow content that maliciously insults someone based on protected attributes such as their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation," with this applying to public figures as well. Additionally, while explicit threats were already banned, YouTube says it will ban "veiled or implied threats" going forward as well.

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YouTube also says it may suspend partner channels if they repeatedly "brush up against our harassment policy" and may terminate channels that engage in repeated harassment.

Several of Crowder's videos attacking Maza would be removed under the new policy, YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan told Recode. Still, Maza isn't ready to celebrate.

"It doesn't fix the problem — which is not that these videos exist, but that YouTube is designed to make videos like this in perpetuity for profit," Maza told Recode. "I'm skeptical about YouTube's willingness to enforce these policies. The truth is, they should have penalized and prohibited this kind of content already."