Video streaming service YouTube says an “error in our enforcement systems” led to the deletion of comments that were critical of or insulting to China’s Communist Party (CCP.)
The Verge reported on Tuesday that comments containing the phrase “communist bandit” or “50 cent party” were deleted within seconds. According to The Verge, “50 cent party” is slang for users who are paid to defend the CCP.
News that the comments were being removed sparked swift criticism from some who claimed the streaming service was “kowtowing” to China.
In a statement addressing the deletion of the comments, YouTube said, “Upon review by our teams, we have confirmed this was an error in our enforcement systems, and we are working to fix it as quickly as possible.”
And on Wednesday, YouTube said that it had begun fixing the error. Additionally, the company said that the deletions were not the result of a change to its policies, and instead was the result of an automatic comment filtering system.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr blasted the streaming service on Tuesday as he shared The Verge’s story about the deletion of the comments.
“Oopsie. We did a propaganda,” Carr wrote.
Can confirm that @youtube continues to delete comments that simply name the communist regime’s paid Internet trolls within 15 seconds of posting. pic.twitter.com/GSd8xaVzbQ
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) May 26, 2020
Additionally, he shared a video of comments being deleted within 15-seconds. Carr said, “Can confirm that [YouTube] continues to delete comments that simply name the communist regime’s paid Internet trolls within 15 seconds of posting.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) was not buying YouTube’s explanation. In a letter to the head of Google, YouTube’s parent company, Hawley wrote, “YouTube dismissed the censorship of these terms as ‘an error,’ but this purported ‘error’ follows a long, disturbing pattern of Google censoring content to try to gain favor with the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Until 2010, for example, you actively censored content through your search engine Google.cn, which operated in China. Despite your stated commitments to free speech, you were happy to censor if it meant obtaining more revenue,” he added.
