YouTube unveils new anti-harassment policy

YouTube on Wednesday unveiled a strengthened policy to crack down on harassment after facing a wave of scrutiny over whether it has taken enough responsibility over the scourge of hateful and bigoted content available across its massively popular platform.

In a blog post, the Google-owned video-sharing platform announced it is taking a stricter stance against “veiled or implied threats,” such as when a YouTube creator suggests he or she will commit violence against someone else but does not explicitly say it.

And the company intends to crack down on targeted harassment campaigns, in which a particular creator or group continually targets an individual with hateful comments and content over a long period of time.

“Harassment hurts our community by making people less inclined to share their opinions and engage with each other,” wrote Matt Halprin, YouTube’s global head of trust and safety.

The policy updates — which could make it easier for YouTube to punish users — come after the platform faced a whirlwind of protest over its decision not to take action against a conservative commentator accused of engaging in targeted homophobic and racist harassment against a journalist over two years.