YouTube is testing a new feature to hide “dislike” counts on videos in an effort to combat “targeted dislike campaigns.”
The video-sharing platform made the announcement in two tweets on Tuesday, saying the feature will be rolled out as part of a “small experiment” accessible to a few content creators. Although the creators will still be able to see the number of likes and dislikes on a particular video in YouTube Studio, the dislike count will not be visible to viewers. Viewers can continue to like or dislike videos, even if their reactions are not visible to the public.
DEMOCRATS WANT TO USE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AS THEIR CENSORS
YouTube argued that the feature will help combat “targeted dislike campaigns,” or mobs of users disliking videos en masse in an effort to harm the creators and discredit the videos’ messages.
Creators, you’ll still be able to see the exact number of likes and dislikes in YouTube Studio. For viewers, if you’re in the experiment, you can still like or dislike a video to share feedback with creators and help tune the recommendations you see on YouTube.
— YouTube (@YouTube) March 30, 2021
Specific details of the experiment, such as the number of participants and the timeline for a potential rollout to all users, were not readily available. Representatives for Google, which owns YouTube, did not immediately reply to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
The move to hide dislike counts comes as many on the Right argue that Big Tech companies have engaged in censorship. The decisions of social media companies such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to deplatform former President Donald Trump in the wake of the Capitol Hill siege sparked outrage on the Right.
Facebook pulled an interview Lara Trump conducted with her father-in-law on Tuesday, saying the video violated the terms of his block from the platform.
“We removed content from Lara Trump’s Facebook page that featured President Trump speaking,” the Facebook message posted by Lara Trump said. “In line with the block we placed on Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, further content posted in the voice of Donald Trump will be removed and result in additional limitations on the accounts.”
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects social media companies from liability for content posted by their users, has been singled out for scrutiny, with some members of Congress calling for its elimination.
“Tyranny means knowingly breaking the law without fear of legal repercussions. No wonder Big Tech feels empowered to ban the president of the United States, supposedly to protect their users, while turning a blind eye to child pornography,” Rep. Jim Banks, who introduced the Stop Shielding Culpable Platforms Act in an attempt to reform Big Tech’s liability protections, said. “Section 230 has placed them outside and above the law. It’s past time for Congress to roll back Section 230’s most egregious and expansive special legal protections.”
Democrats have agreed to work with Republicans to develop antitrust reforms aimed at Big Tech.
Rep. David Cicilline, the chairman of the House antitrust panel, told the Washington Examiner he plans to introduce four measures to beef up antitrust agency resources and expand its authority, make user data portable, and stop product discrimination, a legislative package he described as the “Glass-Steagall of the internet.”
“There’s considerable bipartisan support for additional resources at the antitrust agencies to make sure the DOJ and the FTC are properly resourced, so that’s first,” said Cicilline, who plans to introduce the legislation in conjunction with Republican Rep. Ken Buck.
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Despite the bipartisan agreement on antitrust measures, the Rhode Island Democrat found Republicans’ concerns about Big Tech censorship to be overblown.
“There is no evidence that there is any bias,” Cicilline told the Washington Examiner last month, adding that censorship is “not an actual problem” because evidence in support of the claims is “anecdotal.”
