Google: ‘We don’t check Youtube for sexual abuse’

Google has admitted it still doesn’t search Youtube for videos promoting terrorism or showing child sexual abuse. Instead, it relies on users reporting “abhorrent” content.

The comments were made by Google’s Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, Peter Barron (pictured), who was being grilled by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

MPS accused the tech giant of turning a blind eye to obscene and hateful content in pursuit of profits.

Since buying Youtube in 2006, Google has asked its “community” to flag up “inappropriate” videos, based on guidelines at www.snipca. com/23793. Labour MP Yvette Cooper said this was a “joke”.

MPS also slammed Google for letting extremists such as ISIS supporters make money from ads on their videos.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna accused the company of “not working nearly hard enough to deal with this”. Mr Barron claimed the cash made was “very small amounts”.

The Committee also turned the heat on executives from Facebook and Twitter. Simon Milner, Facebook’s Director of Policy, said he couldn’t guarantee that the site had removed sexualised photos of children found by the BBC.

Twitter’s UK Public Policy Manager Nick Pickles conceded that websites will never be able check content before it goes online because there was just too much of it.