This archive report was first published on 19 June 2020.
On June 16, 2020, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Jose, California, alleging that YouTube discriminates against African American video makers and viewers by factoring in race when filtering or monetizing content.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, names YouTube, Google, and Alphabet as defendants. It claims that the video sharing platform uses computer-driven racial profiling and filtering tools to restrict, censor, and denigrate black content creators.
According to the lawsuit, YouTube uses metadata and other signals from videos to make decisions about filtering content or placing money-making advertising based on race. The platform allegedly continues to knowingly and intentionally block, demonetize, and deny black content creators their contractual and other legal rights to access YouTube based on the color of their skin or other protected racial traits.
Triggers for YouTube's filtering software include tags on videos referencing white supremacy, police brutality, and 'Black Lives Matter,' the lawsuit claims.
YouTube did not immediately return a request for comment.
It's worth noting that Google has made efforts to address racial disparities in the past. In 2020, the company boosted its free advertising budget for non-profits to $1 billion, with a focus on groups combatting racism and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
