YouTube is making its user guidelines more strict, the Google-owned video giant shared on Wednesday, and will now remove videos with “malicious insults” aimed at people based on their “race, gender expression or sexual orientation.”
The move comes as YouTube looks to take a “stronger stance against threats and personal attacks,” according to a blog post from the company. The new policy, which will be applied to all creators, the company said, comes as it looks to root out “demeaning language that goes too far.”
As BuzzFeed News reported on Wednesday, YouTube’s new policy will lead to the removal of some videos from conservative commentator Steven Crowder, who had his channel demonetized earlier this year after he called ex-Vox personality Carlos Maza a “lispy queer” and other insults. YouTube’s decision received a mixed response from creators in June, with some criticizing the company’s seemingly arbitrary and quick-to-change rules.
The ban on “malicious insults” was part of an overall rules overhaul from YouTube. The company said its policy on threats would now “go a step further and not only prohibit explicit threats, but also veiled or implied threats. This includes content simulating violence toward an individual or language suggesting physical violence may occur.”
The company added that “No individual should be subject to harassment that suggests violence.”
The company has taken a more proactive approach to weeding out what it calls “toxic comments” this year and on Wednesday, patted itself on the back for its efforts, saying it removed more than 16 million comments for violating its harassment policies.