YouTube updates its policy on eating disorder videos

Important news on YouTube. Google’s video platform will update its guidelines for the following in the coming weeks: Content related to eating disorders.

The announcement was made by YouTube via a blog post on the platform; The company said the move will be made “in a way that we believe will create space for community, healing and resources while continuing to protect audiences.”

According to the publication, to promote change, YouTube consulted and worked with key organizations that focus on, or are in some way related to, issues related to eating disorders. These are: The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), Beat Eating Disorders, and the Asociación de Lucha contra la Bulimia y la Anorexia (ALUBA). Through these collaborations, the aim was to create more ambitious guidelines.

Main changes

The platform already existed More restrictive policies on videos about eating disorders, banning content that glorifies or promotes disease. YouTube will no longer accept videos that mimic or encourage people to imitate the behavior of people with eating disorders. “Context will be crucial when analyzing this nuanced content,” the post says.

Also, YouTube Not all educational or healing content about eating disorders is suitable for everyone. So certain videos will have age restrictions. In this sense, many content can only be viewed by those over the age of 18 and will not be displayed when used on external websites.

Finally, YouTube also promises promote help panels, with important data and information, just below all the videos about eating disorders. Panels currently only appear in certain regions such as the United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, France, and Germany. “Dashboards will be available in the official languages ​​of these countries and we will work to make the tool available in more countries and languages ​​in the future,” the document states.