Talk:Censorship of YouTube

No mention of Syria?

I think YouTube is banned there. --MK (talk) 10:00, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

Yeah I’m wondering that as well Ripload (talk) 20:07, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

Belgium

In Belgium making a copy of digitals is only legal if it is

(1) provided by a legal distribution service and (2) only used for private and family use

Distribution has to adhere to

(1) have permission from the creators and (2) pay a fee to the creators

According to these laws many movies, shows and albums are illegal content on YouTube. Watching illegal content is not prosecuted because of the cost of tracking users, distribution on the other hand is prosecuted in Belgium.

Semi-protected edit request on 7 September 2024

Move russia to currently blocked. 125.26.88.242 (talk) 02:09, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. MadGuy7023 (talk) 07:06, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

Here,

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/08/08/youtube-has-suddenly-stopped-working-in-russia-meduza-s-readers-describe-how-they-re-handling-the-loss-of-the-world-s-most-popular-video-streaming-service

https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/12/23/youtube-traffic-in-russia-drops-to-20-percent-of-pre-throttling-levels-platform-de-factoblocked-in-country

As for August 2025, Meduza still refers to YouTube as practically unusable https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/08/07/from-youtube-to-boob-tube Сырно Небаковна (talk) 02:15, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: The throttling/partial slowdown is already mentioned in the article. It's not a complete block. Day Creature (talk) 13:54, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Article mentions: On February 12, 2026, YouTube is officially blocked in Russia. Move to currenyly blocked section. ~2026-23873-82 (talk) 13:43, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

Shadowbanning of comments

The part about the shadowban is really short. YouTube has an automated, AI-powered system for censoring user comments. If a user expresses an opinion that does not contain profanity or direct or indirect insults or threats, such a comment may still be banned. A warning banner pops up within a minute and says that your comment violates the rules, and says to stop writing comments like that. Or a message immediately pops up about being banned for such and such a period of time. The comment will of course be deleted. A more vile situation occurs when a comment gets hit with a hidden ban. In this case, you don’t know about it at all and no one sees your comment. Some hidden comments may be visible as new when sorting. You can detect a hidden ban by checking your comment from a different account or without an account. If you write the same comment but change some words and disguise it as sarcasm, the comment will be considered valid. It is obvious that the system has been programmed with certain topics and questions on which you are clearly not allowed to express a specific opinion. Congratulations, YouTube has been transformed from a free platform into a censorship cesspool. ~2025-42857-16 (talk) 05:16, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

An example of a comment that the AI ​​sends to a hidden ban. You know who's the true alpha in life? It's the rooster in the henhouse, tugging at so many hens in life. Who was offended by this comment? The rooster, the hen, the henhouse? Ahahahaha, sucks. ~2026-80024-1 (talk) 16:09, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

The funny thing is, you can encounter comments containing profanity, plain and simple, without any distortion. And the system doesn't see this as a problem. You can also encounter similar spam comments that the system somehow doesn't recognize. Perhaps the system is analyzing specific users who have been placed on the negative list due to complaints. That's why it even picks up on comments from such users that are clearly free of insults. Other users who use profanity and spam without any complaints are not analyzed. ~2026-87955-6 (talk) 09:58, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

It's highly likely that the AI ​​moderation system isn't working consistently because it's allowing other users' profanity to show up. It's focused on specific users who have apparently been reported. It clearly doesn't understand what others dislike about a blacklisted user's comments and follows a template. It remembers the user's message structure, and when they write in a similar tone, that comment is banned, even if there's no profanity or insults. This blacklist also prevents the user from liking; all their likes under other users' comments are simply not displayed. ~2026-87955-6 (talk) 15:33, 24 March 2026 (UTC)

Thus, YouTube is 100% certain to have implemented an AI-based system that monitors particularly active users. Users who are reported or identified based on their activity are placed on a blacklist. These users are pessimized, their likes are visible only to them, and their comments are constantly moderated by the AI. Even if their comment doesn't contain obscenities or insults, the system can still send it to a hidden ban. It latch onto any word or combination of words to deduce that the user has written an offensive comment. It remembers the order of the words, which becomes a pattern for hiding. Therefore, this system can be circumvented by changing your speech (not your usual pattern), using synonyms, and disguising your thoughts as sarcasm. Users who are ignored by the system freely use obscene words (and spammers), and they are displayed as if nothing happened. This means that if someone doesn't like your opinion, they can flood your account with complaints, and you'll end up on that list. This is likely exploited by both ordinary users who create a fictional reality online, as well as by governments, media outlets, and propagandists who do exactly the same. They get rid of those who refute them. ~2026-19133-83 (talk) 03:44, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

AI censorship

For those who can edit the article, why hasn't information about AI censorship been added?

YouTube has implemented AI moderation for user comments (How long ago?). This system also analyzes uploaded videos. This system is effectively a real-time censorship machine. You laughed at the Chinese surveillance and oppression of the Uyghurs, but in the US did something similar on a platform for communication. This system is effectively a tool for cancel culture. You're simply cancelled because you write unpleasant information. As soon as you click send, the AI ​​takes over and processes your comment for a minute. You can even see how it appears or is counted, but it immediately disappears. This system may send your comment to a hidden ban, without any notification to you or other users. She can immediately delete the message and send you a warning or ban you outright (for a day or forever). A user is subject to censorship; their likes are not visible to anyone, all their comments are analyzed, and they are prohibited from expressing their opinions. This user is effectively gagged, labeled a Jew in Nazi Germany, and followed by a personal Gestapo. Nowhere are the topics or questions specified for which the system filters comments. A platform that plays such a significant role in video format cannot operate this way. ~2026-30181-44 (talk) 16:09, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

4 missing

Permanent or Long-Term Bans

Syria

Myanmar (Burma)

Severe or Periodic Filtering

Tajikistan

Venezuela Ripload (talk) 20:10, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 June 2026

Add Source/Citation to Paragraph 'Shadowbanning on YouTube'. ~2026-35949-75 (talk) 12:42, 21 June 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: I removed it entirely for being unsourced. Feel free to make another edit request with a reliable source if you find something supporting that paragraph. jolielover♥talk 14:04, 21 June 2026 (UTC)