YouTube Must Clean Up its Act on Cyberhate

I started this blog in Helsinki and am finishing it in Stockholm. Both of these cities are are at the vanguard of mobile telephony in the world today and a good place to see the latest in communication technology and applications.  I am sure to talk more about that in the days ahead. 

But my mind today is not on these two Nordic capitals, rather it is on another European city, Warsaw, where a recent gathering of human rights experts from around the world met to combat the use of the Internet by hate groups.  The meetings, held in the shadow of Auschwitz, showed just how sophisticated the Neonazi and white supremacists are in using the net to promulgate their ideas and recruit new members.  Their weapon of choice? Video. 

From an International Herald Tribune article:

In Poland, the experts on Internet hate speech viewed a kind of "hate film festival" - slickly produced videos promoting white power and demonizing Jews, blacks, gays and other minorities, all available online. The music videos and film were Hollywood quality. A kid looking at what effectively are recruitment ads to join the intolerance movement would be impressed with the production values.

What's the favorite way for hate groups to distribute their videos online?  YouTube.  While YouTube has been resolute in fighting porn on its site, and claims to prohibit "harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive" content, the truth is the site management has been lax in policing these hate-mongers.  That is unacceptable.  YouTube is a great global service and needs to act as a great global citizen as well.  Knowing the serious approach Google takes to warning viewers of cyberhate, perhaps YouTube will also clean up its act.  Let's hope so.  In the meantime, if you'd like more information about the fight against hate online, or to get involved, click here.