- – graphic sexual activity
- – nudity
- – suggestive, but without nudity
- – other sexual content
The sub-category ‘graphic sexual activity’ used to be ‘graphic sexual content’ and is defined by Google as “content which contains actual visible or implied sex acts. ” In this sub-category together with ‘nudity’ (“refers to exposed or see-through coverage of areas typically covered by a bathing suit or underwear. Sometimes nudity is allowed on YouTube, depending on the context.”) and ‘other sexual content’ the viewer is asked to specify a timelapse in the movie. ‘Suggestive, but without nudity’ is explained by Google as “materials with sexual themes that do not necessarily depict sexual activity or nudity. Sexually suggestive content may not be suitable for all audiences and may include fetish-related content.” And in ‘other sexual content’ the viewer is also asked to briefly describe the inappropriate content.
B. Violent or repulsive content
- adults fighting
- physical attack
- youth violence
- animal abuse
- shocking or disgusting content
The sub-category ‘youth violence’ was previously named ‘minors fighting’
All the flags in this category only offer the option to ‘Flag This Video’. ‘Shocking or disgusting content’ is defined by Google as “ disturbing imagery, such as graphic depictions of violence, accidents or gore, which lack an appropriate context.”
C. Hateful or abusive content
- promotes hatred or violence
- bullying
The dropdown menu ( in the ‘promotes hatred or violence’ flag) is to indicate the group attacked. It contains an alphabetised list of options; age, color, disability, ethnic origin, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and veteran status.
This flag term is defined by Google as: “hate speech is content that promotes or encourages hatred or violence towards a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status and sexual orientation/gender identity.” The Bullying flag contains only the ‘Flag This Video’ option.
D. Harmful dangerous acts
- drug abuse
- abuse of fire or explosives
- other dangerous acts
‘Harmful Dangerous Acts’ is defined by Google as “may include content which depicts behaviour likely to cause serious injury or death to a third party.” The flags in this category all contain only the option ‘Flag This Video’.
E. Spam
- mass advertising
- misleading text
- misleading thumbnail
The category ‘Spam’ used to be placed below ‘Infringes My Rights’ and was not subcategorised.
F. Infringes my rights
- infringes my copyright
- infringes my privacy
’infringes my copyright’
‘infringes my privacy’
The importance of a clear TOS, is exemplified in Craigslist and the Puppy Wars (aka ‘the CL Pet’); The flagging system on Craigslist is most known as a result of the ongoing ””Puppy wars”” or also known as ””the CL Pet””. In the writings about this it is stated that this re-homing rule is found in the Terms of Use (TOU) , but in the TOU is referred to the list of prohibited and restricted items in the ‘About’ section. Which states that: “Household pets of any kind including but not limited to dogs, cats, primates, cage birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish. Re-homing with small adoption fee OK.” Accordingly, the people selling animals/pets on Craigslist are flagged for selling ‘household pets of any kind’. While these people claim that they are just re-homing the animals for a small adoption fee. Apparently this flagging and unflagging (in the sense of getting the flagging undone by contacting Craigslist) happens to an extent that people started calling it ‘Puppy wars’. Complete discussions between the pro and con site of the matter can be read on the forum section of Craigslist. To human nature, it is being used rather to critique than for praise. But just the mere fact that we can entitle this discussion as the ‘Puppy Wars’. Does not only mean that we know what the debate is about, but also the different opinions that exist in the debate and the motivation with which these groups flag each other. Instead of undirected hate comments or hate flags. But it’s not only used for debates, it also served as chat room on a wide variety of subjects. YouTube has a similar section called the Community Help Forums in the Help section, which is hosted by Google. Users have to log in which their Gmail account in order to post questions and answers on this forum. And the link to the forum is placed at the bottom of each YouTube page. Because it’s easier to hold discussions in the comments section, the dialogues that are centralized at one place on Craigslist, are scattered around on YouTube. The argument to centralize this would be to give a better insight into the different perspectives on different topics.
The most prominent example of where this kind of discussion happens on YouTube is about the age-restricted videos. Especially with regards to the LGBT-discussion (see case study), where it’s common that gay non-nude content is marked inappropriate for minors.
When a video has been age-restricted, a warning screen is displayed and only users who are 18 or older can watch it. In order to reduce the chances of users accidentally stumbling across these videos, they are excluded from certain sections of YouTube (e.g. honors pages like ‘Most Viewed’).
Some of the most commonly age-restricted content includes:
* Sexually suggestive content
* Partial nudity or non-sexual nudity
* Actual violence or very graphic fictional violence
* Gory, disturbing imagery in an appropriate context
Very visibly, the content gets marked by a warning screen stating “This video may not be suitable for minors”:
This strategy is similar to the hiding of bad rated comments, it requires that extra click for the user to see the actual content. Although it causes a lot of discussion, especially amongst topics such as homosexuality, it also visualizes for the user what is seen as inappropriate by the community, which can lead to discussion and debate.