On Thursday, July 21, YouTube said it is taking action against videos that provide false information about abortion and would remove any videos deemed unsafe, according to CNBC.
"Starting today and ramping up over the next few weeks," the company said in a tweet, "we will remove content that provides instructions for unsafe abortion methods or promotes false claims about abortion safety under our medical misinformation policies."
1/ Starting today and ramping up over the next few weeks, we will remove content that provides instructions for unsafe abortion methods or promotes false claims about abortion safety under our medical misinformation policies. https://t.co/P7A27WPYuD
— YouTubeInsider (@YouTubeInsider) July 21, 2022
CNN said that the video-sharing platform's regulations against medical misinformation now forbid false statements concerning vaccines and COVID-19 in addition to content pertaining to abortion. The new rule becomes effective on Thursday.
The U.S. reached a decision approximately a month before the move by the video streaming platform website. Global News noted that the Roe v. Wade ruling, which had over 50 years of legal protection for abortion in the nation, was overturned by the Supreme Court.
According to YouTube, the removal of false abortion videos will intensify over the coming weeks.
Other Measures Announced by YouTube
The company also announced launching an information panel that will appear above relevant search results and videos linked to abortion. As an example of how it would be presented, CNBC noted that YouTube provided the National Library of Medicine's description of abortion.
A link to "learn more" is provided on the panel, along with the recommendation to "consult your local medical authority for advice."
TikTok Also Started To Remove Unsafe Videos
Recently, TikTok started removing videos regarding abortion that go against its policy against medical misinformation, including those that give potentially harmful instructions on how to induce an abortion on oneself, as per CNN.
Reversal of Roe v. Wade
CNBC reported that Google, the company that owns YouTube, has been under fire in recent months after a group of politicians urged it to take action against search results. They claim that direct people are looking for abortion services to crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion.
The demand on technology companies to take action to prevent the use of their products and services to follow women seeking abortions or guide them in ways that could endanger their health has intensified as a result of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as per Global News .
However, some Congress have urged Google to curtail the visibility of anti-abortion pregnancy clinics in its powerful search engine results. On Thursday, 17 Republican attorneys general urged against this action because it could subject the company to legal ramifications.
However, as with many social media regulations, CNN pointed out that the difficulty isn't in implementing it but in enforcing it. As previously mentioned, YouTube announced it would step up its enforcement of the new policy against spreading false information about abortion in the upcoming weeks and months.
