YouTube Updates Policy to Address AI-Generated Content and Privacy Concerns

YouTube Updates Policy to Address AI-Generated Content and Privacy Concerns

YouTube, like Meta, is grappling with the rise in AI-generated content and its impact on platforms. In June, YouTube implemented a policy change allowing individuals to request the removal of AI-generated or synthetic content simulating their face or voice under its privacy request process. This expands on YouTube’s approach to responsible AI announced in November. Instead of flagging content as misleading, YouTube encourages affected parties to request removal as a privacy violation. 

YouTube’s updated Help documentation indicates that first-party claims are required, with exceptions for minors, individuals without computer access, deceased persons, and similar cases. However, a takedown request doesn’t guarantee removal. YouTube evaluates complaints based on factors such as whether the content is disclosed as synthetic, if it uniquely identifies a person, and if it could be considered parody or satire. It also considers if the content involves public figures and whether it depicts sensitive behavior like criminal activity or endorsements, which is particularly concerning in an election year.

Content uploaders are given 48 hours to address the complaint. If they remove the content within this period, the complaint is closed. Otherwise, YouTube initiates a review. Removal involves fully taking down the video and, if necessary, eliminating the individual’s name and personal information from the title, description, and tags. Blurring faces is an option, but making the video private isn’t sufficient as it can be reverted to public status.

YouTube did not widely publicize this policy change, although it introduced a Creator Studio tool in March for disclosing synthetic media and recently tested a feature for adding crowdsourced notes to videos for additional context. While YouTube is not opposed to AI, experimenting with AI tools like comment summarizers and conversational question tools, it has emphasized that labeling AI content does not exempt it from Community Guidelines.

For creators, receiving a privacy complaint does not result in a Community Guidelines strike. YouTube differentiates its Privacy Guidelines from Community Guidelines, and content can be removed due to privacy requests even if it doesn’t violate Community Guidelines. Although there’s no immediate penalty for privacy-related removals, YouTube may act against accounts with repeated violations.