Google-owned video site YouTube has embarked on a cleanup exercise on its site as it deals with controversies concerning minors on the service.
The site has drawn indignation because some videos with kids were the target of sexually inappropriate comments.
In response, the site deactivated hundreds of accounts and removed over 150,000 videos from the platform this week, according to a statement.
Youtube also turned off comments on more than 625,000 videos posted by alleged child predators.
YouTube has suffered criticism after the filters for YouTube Kids, the version of the site designed for younger audiences, failed to recognise or pull down some videos that feature disturbing imagery but are aimed at children like Mickey Mouse lying in a pool of blood, or a claymation version of Spider-Man urinating on Elsa, the Disney princess from “Frozen.”
YouTube also said on Tuesday that it removed ads from almost 2 million videos and more than 50,000 channels that tried to pass off as family-friendly but that featured inappropriate content.
Last week, the company outlined new rules to make YouTube safer for kids, including using machine learning and automated tools to identify inappropriate videos, as well as doubling the number of human reviewers to police the content.
Giant brands like AT&T and Johnson & Johnson, ditched advertising on the platform. But Ruth Porat, Google’s CFO, said on an earnings conference call last month that most of the advertisers that boycotted have returned to the platform.
