Meta isn’t the only company grappling with the rise of AI-generated content and its impact on its platform. YouTube also quietly rolled out a policy change in June that allows people to request the removal of AI-generated or other synthetic content that mimics faces or voices. The change allows people to request the removal of this type of AI content through YouTube’s privacy request process. This expands on a previously announced approach to a responsible AI agenda that was first introduced in November.
Instead of asking YouTube to remove content for reasons such as misleading content like deepfakes, we want affected parties to directly request that content be removed for privacy violations. According to YouTube’s recently updated help document on the topic, first-party assertion is required, with a few exceptions, such as when the affected individual is a minor, incapacitated, deceased, or similar.
However, simply submitting a removal request does not guarantee that the content will be removed. YouTube warns that it will make its own judgments about complaints based on a number of factors.
For example, it may consider whether the content is synthetic or AI-generated, whether it uniquely identifies a person, and whether the content is parody, satire, or otherwise valuable and in the public interest. The company also notes that it may consider whether AI content features public figures or other well-known individuals, or engages in “sensitive behavior,” such as criminal activity, violence, or support for a product or political candidate. The latter is a particular concern in an election year, when AI-generated endorsements could potentially swing the vote.
YouTube also says it will give content uploaders 48 hours to take action on complaints. If the content is removed before that time, the complaint will be closed. Otherwise, YouTube will begin a review. The company also warns users that removal means removing the video entirely from the site, as well as removing the person’s name and personal information from the video’s title, description, and tags, if applicable. Users can also blur faces in the video, but they can’t make the video private to comply with a removal request, as the video can always be reverted to public status.
The company didn’t advertise the policy change broadly, but in March it introduced tools into Creator Studio that let creators disclose when content appears to have been created using altered or synthetic media, including generative AI. It also recently began testing a feature that lets users add crowdsourced notes to videos that provide additional context—for example, whether they’re parodies or otherwise misleading.
YouTube isn’t against using AI, and has already experimented with generative AI itself, including comment summarizers and conversational tools that ask questions or provide recommendations about videos. But the company has previously warned that labeling AI content as such won’t necessarily protect it from removal, as it would still need to adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines.
When a privacy violation report is filed regarding AI material, YouTube does not immediately penalize the original content creator.
“If you’re a creator and you receive notification of a privacy complaint, please keep in mind that a privacy violation is separate from a Community Guidelines strike, and receiving a privacy complaint does not automatically mean you’ll automatically receive a strike,” a company representative shared on YouTube’s Community site last month, where the company provides updates on new policies and features directly to creators.
That said, YouTube’s privacy guidelines are different from its community guidelines, and some content may be removed from YouTube as a result of a privacy complaint even if it doesn’t violate the community guidelines. The company doesn’t impose penalties, like upload limits, when creators’ videos are removed based on privacy complaints, but YouTube says it may take action on repeat violators.
Updated July 1 at 4:17 p.m. ET to provide more information about what steps you can take if your privacy is breached on YouTube.
