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Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube on Thursday said the streaming platform is cracking down on videos containing abortion misinformation and will take down videos deemed unsafe.
“Starting today and ramping up over the next few weeks, we will remove content that provides instructions for unsafe abortion methods or promotes false claims about abortion safety under our medical misinformation policies,” the company said in a tweet.
YouTube parent Google has come under fire after several lawmakers asked the video platform to clamp down on search results that allegedly steer people looking for abortion services to crisis pregnancy centers opposing abortion.
“Like all of our policies on health/medical topics, we rely on published guidance from health authorities,” YouTube said. “We prioritize connecting people to content from authoritative sources on health topics, and we continuously review our policies & products as real-world events unfold.”
The company also launched an “information panel” to provide “viewers with context and information from local and global health authorities” that will appear underneath abortion-related videos like videos related to COVID-19.
YouTube gave an example of how it will be displayed, showing the National Library of Medicine’s definition of abortion.
“An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy,” the display said. “It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is done by a licensed healthcare professional.”
The panel includes a link for people who want to “learn more” and instructions to “Consult your local medical authority for advice.”
YouTube has earlier taken a similar approach for other controversial topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic and political elections.
Picture Credit: Variety
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