Teachers are demanding that YouTube, the hugely popular video sharing website, be closed down for refusing to remove violent, threatening and sexual content involving children and staff.

 

Members of the Professional Association of Teachers have accused the company of encouraging cyber-bullying by ignoring their pleas to take down inappropriate clips.

In one case in Scotland, pupils filmed a teacher in the classroom and then posted it on the website alongside the caption 'you are dead'. Teachers claim that YouTube repeatedly ignored complaints about the footage, although it was eventually taken down.

 

'Being exposed to ridicule, whether as an adult or young person, is a humiliating and frightening experience.' In the short term confronting this problem must be the closure of sites encouraging the cyber-bullying.' In the long term, the goal was to stop pupils carrying out the bullying and allow them to benefit from the technology.

 

This month three pupils at Hayling College, Hayling Island, Hampshire, were suspended after mobile phone footage of two girls fighting was placed on YouTube. Max Bullough, the college's headteacher, said he had great difficulty getting the video taken down and eventually had to turn to the police.

 

Bullough found he was unable to 'flag up' the video for YouTube's attention because he was not a member of the site and then he could not find contact details. 'They don't seem to operate a complaints policy,' he said. 'They say they have a team who deal with flagged up content operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but I don't believe it.'

 

Eventually, he went to the police who managed to get the video removed, but only after it had been viewed by more than 1,000 people. In the light of his experience, Bullough said he endorses the union's conference motion. 'A lot of other headteachers have mentioned this problem to me,' he added.

 

Meanwhile, footage of schoolchildren from Somerset punching and kicking each other remains on the website. The video features boys aged 12 and 13.

 

YouTube insisted the problems arise in a minority of cases. A spokesman said: 'YouTube is a community site used by millions of people in very positive ways. Sadly, as with any form of communication, there is a tiny minority of people who try to break the rules. On YouTube, these rules prohibit content like pornography or gratuitous violence.

 

'We don't want that sort of material on our site, and nor does our community. When people see content that they think is inappropriate they can flag it and our staff then review it. If the content breaks our terms then we remove it, and if a user repeatedly breaks the rules we disable their account.

 

'If the police ask us for information, then we will co-operate, so long as they follow the correct legal process that the government introduced.'

The spokesman added that YouTube, along with a number of other websites, has joined a cyberbullying taskforce set up by the government.

 

Source: The Observer

 

 

:rofl: demanding the sites closure :rofl:

 

do they even begin to consider how impossible it is for YouTube themselves to moderate every single video that is added, which is well over 30,000 a day. That would involve playing them all through. The flagging system by users is the only real way to moderate it, and then accounts should be deleted and IP's banned.

:rofl: demanding the sites closure :rofl:

 

do they even begin to consider how impossible it is for YouTube themselves to moderate every single video that is added

Actually, I disagree. YouTube have no problem moderating porn. So why do they struggle with other things?

there'll be keywords that'll spark up things at YouTube, but people do find other ways round, I mean how would they find a video that shouldn't be there when it's called I don't know hmm

 

The Simpsons Trailer

 

if it was something else

They should easily be able to moderate it, Wikipedia do just fine with moderation and I'm sure they get more edits in a day than YouTube get videos.

Frankly I find YouTube's excuses a little bit lame... Like Ricky says, they seem to have no problems in moderating porn, and I'm willing to bet that if some Record Company rep contacted them demanding they pulled a certain artist's video or get sued, they would leap into action quicker than a greased weasel... They just dont seem to be taking this whole "Cyber Bullying" thing seriously.. I've seen some of these videos and they are bloody disturbing.. I've flagged one or two myself as I am member... And nothing actually seems to get done about it...

I do think that You Tube needs to get its act together but the people calling for it to be shut down destroy their argument as they are just engaging in stupidity

I do think that You Tube needs to get its act together but the people calling for it to be shut down destroy their argument as they are just engaging in stupidity

 

Spot on Craig, I think it's totally unrealistic to expect YouTube to be shut down, nor would that really be desirable.. I've been a critic of YouTube, but I wouldn't actually want it banned, that is just foolish....

 

Thing is, not once have I ever came across porn/bullying on Youtube. Voilence, yes, thats only If I've searched for a programme/movie trailor etc.

 

:huh:

Thing is, not once have I ever came across porn/bullying on Youtube. Voilence, yes, thats only If I've searched for a programme/movie trailor etc.

 

:huh:

 

Some little buggers are posting up "Happy Slapping" videos taken on mobile phone cameras as well Josh.... I dont think we should actually ban YouTube, I think we should actually think more of stopping anyone under the age of 16 having a Camera Phone.... A bit draconian..? Perhaps, but it seems a much simpler solution than banning YouTube...

 

Some little buggers are posting up "Happy Slapping" videos taken on mobile phone cameras as well Josh.... I dont think we should actually ban YouTube, I think we should actually think more of stopping anyone under the age of 16 having a Camera Phone.... A bit draconian..? Perhaps, but it seems a much simpler solution than banning YouTube...

Oh yeah, Seen stuff like that before... Thing is, people view it because they see it as a "funny" video, not really thinking about how it could be seen as voilence. -_-

 

I always thought that when you upload something, it has to be authorized? :unsure: If they really want to stop these vids comming in that others want to be banned, then they should take it up with the people that authorize the vids.

Some little buggers are posting up "Happy Slapping" videos taken on mobile phone cameras as well Josh.... I dont think we should actually ban YouTube, I think we should actually think more of stopping anyone under the age of 16 having a Camera Phone.... A bit draconian..? Perhaps, but it seems a much simpler solution than banning YouTube...

Banning YouTube would be a far more practical and simpler option that stopping all under 16s having a camera phone. :lol:

Banning YouTube would be a far more practical and simpler option that stopping all under 16s having a camera phone. :lol:

Yea, and why stop at 16. Somehow it wouldn't happen for people over 16? :blink:

ban sodding camera phones full stop.

 

I mean why the chuff do you need a camera on a phone anyway?

ban sodding camera phones full stop.

 

I mean why the chuff do you need a camera on a phone anyway?

 

That is like banning the sale of matches because of arson attacks or like banning cars because of the occasional hit and run or banning alcohol because a minority abuse it, camera phones are extremely useful, particularly in evidence in parking or accident disputes for instance

 

Ban camera phones you will need to ban camcorders too as well as banning some digital cameras with USB cables

 

I don't think the majority should suffer because of the actions of a small minority

Ban camera phones you will need to ban camcorders too as well as banning some digital cameras with USB cables

 

I don't think the majority should suffer because of the actions of a small minority

 

I don't remember nearly every individual walking around with a camcorder in their bags though ;)

That is like banning the sale of matches because of arson attacks or like banning cars because of the occasional hit and run or banning alcohol because a minority abuse it, camera phones are extremely useful, particularly in evidence in parking or accident disputes for instance

 

Ban camera phones you will need to ban camcorders too as well as banning some digital cameras with USB cables

 

I don't think the majority should suffer because of the actions of a small minority

 

Which I why I said that Camera phones should be restricted in the case of under-16s, in much the same way alcohol and tobacco are restricted... It seems to me that the "Happy Slapping" incidents are being committed in the majority of cases by little hooligan b/astards under that age, so it seems perfectly reasonable to me that kids should be stopped from having camera mobile phones.... In fact, schools should just ban mobile phones altogether from their premises.... We managed perfectly well and good without mobile phones when I was at school, any family emergencies that cropped up, well, just phone the bloody school Admin office....

 

Banning YouTube would be a far more practical and simpler option that stopping all under 16s having a camera phone. :lol:

 

How do you make that out David, YouTube is kinda GLOBAL..... Far simpler IMO is for schools themselves to ban the use of mobile phones on school grounds... Anyone who doesn't comply gets it confiscated, persistent offenders get suspended or expelled.. Simple solution, and parents can bleat all they bloody want about their "right" to be able to contact their kids at a mintue's notice, fukk that... As far as I'm concerned it's more important for kids to have the right to a decent bloody education than to have to put up with some moron's bloody ringtone going off every five minutes and disrupting the lessons.... If my folks needed to contact me at the school, they knew the School Admin office's number....

I have seen quite a few music videos and TV show clips where YouTube have removed them for "violating the terms of service" or whatever, so as others have said, there is NO reason why the happy slapping clips should slip through the net.

 

The problem with banning YouTube outright though, is that you do that and the next step is closing down all similar sites for similar reasons, and it's a small step closer to a completely mollycoddled nany state with a restricted "freedom of speech". I know that might seem a bit dramatic given we are talking mainly music video montages and video blogs, but the principle of shutting that down just doesn't sit well with me.

And to be honest I don't agree banning camera phones is the way to go or other. Do you really think these young little $h!ts only perform acts of violence if a camera phone is out? I doubt it. If these morons are stupid enough to do these sorts of things anyway, I doubt a camera phone ban is going to stop them, they'll be bast*rds whatever.

How do you make that out David, YouTube is kinda GLOBAL..... Far simpler IMO is for schools themselves to ban the use of mobile phones on school grounds... Anyone who doesn't comply gets it confiscated, persistent offenders get suspended or expelled.. Simple solution, and parents can bleat all they bloody want about their "right" to be able to contact their kids at a mintue's notice, fukk that... As far as I'm concerned it's more important for kids to have the right to a decent bloody education than to have to put up with some moron's bloody ringtone going off every five minutes and disrupting the lessons.... If my folks needed to contact me at the school, they knew the School Admin office's number....

 

exactly, I as many of us, got through school without even having a mobile