Vloggers to sue YouTube and Google after claiming they discriminate against LGBT-themed videos
The group claim that the site restricts advertisers on LGBT-themed videos if they use the ‘trigger words’ such as ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
A group of YouTubers are suing the streaming site and its parent company Google after claiming they both discriminate against LGBT-themed videos and their creators.
The group includes the likes of singer Bria Kam, actor Chrissy Chambers, Amp Somers, trans man Chase Ross and Lindsay Amer, who produces LGBT-themed educational videos.
They claim the site restricts advertisers on LGBT-themed videos if they use the ‘trigger words’ such as ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ and often labels LGBT content as ‘sensitive’ or ‘mature’.
They argue that because of the filters and restrictions, YouTube is limiting their reach and discoverability, the BBC reported.
However, YouTube has stated that sexual orientation and gender identity doesn’t play a part in deciding which videos can earn ad revenue or appear in search results.
A spokesperson for YouTube, Alex Joseph, said: “”Our policies have no notion of sexual orientation or gender identity and our systems do not restrict or demonetise videos based on these factors or the inclusion of terms like ‘gay’ or ‘transgender’.
“In addition, we have strong policies prohibiting hate speech and we quickly remove content that violates our policies and terminate accounts that do so repeatedly.”
A judge will now decide whether a jury will hear the case in California.