YouTube, which was already removing videos promoting eating disorders, has announced new measures to combat bulimia, anorexia and even binge eating.
- YouTube has taken new steps to combat eating disorders.
- The platform, which was already deleting videos promoting anorexia and bulimia, will now also ban those showing dangerous “imitable behavior”.
- The measures announced by YouTube come as several platforms have been singled out for their promotion of unsafe eating practices.
Several studies have shown that social networks play an important role in the development of self-image disorders, but also food disorders. To combat this phenomenon, the YouTube platform indicated on April 18, 2023 the implementation of a series of new measures.
Eating disorder: imitable behaviors banned on YouTube
YouTube, which was already removing content promoting eating disorders (ED), will also ban videos showing dangerous gestures such as “to purge” after eating or extreme calorie counting.
The platform provides an exception: content that presents these “imitable behavior” in the context of healing. While they can remain on the site, their access will be limited to users logged into their profile and over the age of 18.
These policy changes were developed with the help of the National Eating Disorder Association and other nonprofit organizations addressing eating disorders. Garth Graham, who heads the US company’s health department, told CNN that they aim to guarantee “that YouTube create space for recovery and community education, while continuing to protect our users”.
“We want to allow people to hear stories of healing and educational information, but we are also aware that these subjects can, at the same time, trigger disorders”, says Garth Graham.
TCA: educational work with Internet users and content creators
YouTube plans to add warning messages below published content related to eating disorders that will lead to informational and educational sites on the subject. This measure will initially be applied in 9 countries, including France, the United Kingdom and the USA. However, it should subsequently be extended to others.
Also, when a creator’s video is taken down for violating its eating disorder policy, the platform will send them instructions on how to create content that is less likely to harm viewers. Productions and their context will be reviewed both by human moderators and by automated systems.
“These are complicated public health and societal problems”added Garth Graham, “I never want to profess perfection, but to understand that we have to be proactive, we have to be thoughtful… it took time to get there because we wanted to articulate a process that had different layers and understand the challenges”.
The measures announced by YouTube come as several platforms have been singled out for their promotion of unsafe eating practices. Two complaints were filed against Instagram in the summer of 2022 regarding its role in the spike in eating disorder cases. The TikTok network has also been criticized for its lack of action in the face of this type of content.
