In India alone, between October and December 2023, 2,254,902 videos were removed for contravening YouTube’s community guidelines
YouTube’s recent report revealed that over 2.25 million videos were taken down in India during the last quarter of 2023 due to violations of community guidelines. This significant figure catapults India to the top of the list for video removals, surpassing countries like the United States and Russia.
Singapore trailed closely behind India, with 1,243,871 videos removed, while the US ranked third with 788,354 deletions. Indonesia and Russia secured the fourth and fifth positions respectively, with 770,157 and 516,629 video takedowns. YouTube’s Community Guidelines Enforcement report sheds light on global data regarding flagged videos and the platform’s enforcement actions.
Globally, YouTube removed over 9 million videos during this period for breaching community norms, with more than 96 percent of these removals initiated by automated systems rather than human flagging. These videos were found to violate various community guidelines such as those concerning harmful or dangerous content, child safety, violent or graphic material, nudity and sexual content, misinformation, among others.
In India alone, between October and December 2023, a staggering 2,254,902 videos were removed for contravening YouTube’s community guidelines, placing India atop the list of 30 countries in terms of video removals. The report further elucidated that during this quarter, YouTube terminated approximately 20.5 million channels globally for guideline violations, resulting in the removal of all associated videos. The total count of videos removed due to channel-level termination stood at a staggering 95.5 million.
YouTube clarified its channel termination policy, stating that channels could be terminated if they accumulate three community guideline strikes within 90 days, engage in severe abuse such as predatory behavior, or are deemed solely dedicated to violating guidelines, often observed in spam accounts.
In a statement, YouTube showcased its commitment to fostering a safe and vibrant community, emphasizing its efforts to uphold community guidelines and ensure user safety on the platform.