Google-owned YouTube said Thursday it was taking action to close a loophole that enabled users to share comments and links on child pornography over the video-sharing service.
The response came after a YouTube creator this week revealed what he called a "wormhole" that allowed comments and connections on child porn alongside innocuous videos.
"Any content—including comments—that endangers minors is abhorrent and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube," a spokesman said in an email to AFP.
"We took immediate action by deleting accounts and channels, reporting illegal activity to authorities and disabling comments on tens of millions of videos that include minors. There's more to be done, and we continue to work to improve and catch abuse more quickly."
The move came after Matt Watson, a YouTube creator with some 26,000 subscribers, revealed the workings of what he termed a "wormhole" into a pedophile ring that allowed users to trade social media contacts and links to child porn in YouTube comments.
Watson, who uses the name MattsWhatItIs, added that YouTube's recommendation algorithm "due to some kind of glitch is actually facilitating this."
Because ads automatically appear with many YouTube videos, Watson said the actions of the company amounted to "monetizing" the exploitation.
The post by Watson sparked a series of news reports, and according to some media, boycotts of YouTube ads from major firms including Nestle and Disney.
AT&T, which owns the WarnerMedia entertainment unit, confirmed it was pulling its ads from the service.
"Until Google can protect our brand from offensive content of any kind, we are removing all advertising from YouTube," AT&T said in a statement to AFP.
Epic Games, known for its popular online game Fortnite, said it was suspending ads on YouTube following the news.
"We have paused all pre-roll advertising" on YouTube, a company spokesman said.
"Through our advertising agency, we have reached out to Google/YouTube to determine actions they'll take to eliminate this type of content from their service."
The glitch appeared to allow some users to circumvent bans on child porn by Google and other internet platforms.
The incident raised fears of a fresh "brand safety" crisis for YouTube, which lost advertisers last year following revelations that messages appeared on channels promoting conspiracy theories, white nationalism and other objectionable content.
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YouTube demotes flat-earthers, conspiracy theorists
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not rated yet Feb 21, 2019Historically, a vast amount of them are shown to have much truth to them..
Which means the future of conspiracy theories is the same as it's past and the moment of now.
We have to remember, that 'conspiracy theory' is a term invented by the CIA as a form of psychological manipulation, designed to move people away from looking closely enough to discern the hand of conspiracy.
This is a fact. Look it up.
It's on the official record in government hearings. Along with a method of stopping people's hearts remotely, (close range, but non contact), in order to 'fake' a heart attack in the target. (CIA hardware).
The obvious logic is that this is just another attempt to keep people away from truths that oligarchy desires to remain hidden.
Google being one of the players in that globalist mix, as they would not be allowed to exist if it were otherwise. History and the record illustrates these conditions.