YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has declared that independent journalists and creators will soon be banished from the platform following Google’s decision to censor Russell Brand’s channel.
“If creators have off-platform behavior, or there’s off-platform news that could be damaging to the broader creator ecosystem, you can be suspended from our monetization program,” Mohan said in an interview with CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Latest Video
“It’s impacted a number of creators and personalities on the platform in the past. And that’s what played out in this particular case around the serious allegations,” the YouTube CEO said.
Breitbart.com reports: After being asked how YouTube decides when to step in and hinder a user’s account before due process has even played out, Mohan said, “We endeavor to apply those rules, equally across our entire creator ecosystem.
The YouTube CEO went on to insist that the platform was “not playing favorites.”
“Not playing favorites, having them apply to the content, the behavior, as opposed to who the person is,” he said.
Brand, who is estimated to earn more than $1.2 million a year from the advertising revenue on his YouTube videos, had his account demonetized by the platform following allegations of sexual assault — which the actor vehemently denies.
Under the new terms, the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star is still allowed to post videos to YouTube, but he will not receive any of the advertising revenue.
Some people believe that YouTube’s decision to strip Brand’s channel of monetization is an extreme response, given that the actor has due process and the situation that hasn’t even played itself out yet. Moreover, there have been no criminal charges filed, and no legal decisions related to the claims have been made.
“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community. This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand,” YouTube said in a statement when it announced the demonetization.
