On Getting Kicked Off YouTube
Some of you who read my work might know I had a little YouTube channel. I posted videos about research updates, webinars about sexual offending, problematic sexual behavior and the podcasts I do. When I say little YouTube channel, I mean little. It had 261 subscribers and a decent number of views, but it wasn’t popular due to its niche content. Friday morning, I woke up to find out I’d been kicked off YouTube. They sent an unceremonious email saying they were deleting my channel because it was “Violating their policies.”
What policies you might ask? According to YouTube, the content on my channel was violating sexual content policies. In short, I was making adult content.
The irony is both frustrating and amusing. The algorithm, or whatever AI process they use, thought that my content, created to educate about problematic sexual behavior, keep children away from pornography and decrease the risk of sexual abuse is categorized the same as me making actual pornography.
Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.
I am fairly sure I know which video got me banned.
I posted a short video about adult-themed video games. Things got squirrelly after that. I tried educating parents and others about their existence and for what to look out for.
Banning me from YouTube makes no difference to my business. It does make me ask a simple question:
If my content, functioning hopefully to decrease sexual abuse and sexual addiction, gets kicked off YouTube, as is many of my colleagues, where are we to do prevention work?
Kicked Off YouTube, For Educating People
Social media of any kind is the place to get the word out about anything. If prevention content that includes the words pornography, sexual abuse, or pedophilia is routinely banned, where, exactly, is the right place to do this work?
It makes logical sense to be doing this work on the platforms where teenagers are routinely being sent unsolicited penis pictures. It makes sense to do this work on the number one site that people go to for information, YouTube.
Learn why it’s important for everyone, especially teens, to be able to control their online experiences. Dick Pic Culture: How do Teenage Girls Navigate it?
Forgive my frustration.
Sometimes it feels as though the only place we can speak freely about these issues, CSAM, child sexual abuse, abuse prevention, is in our professional forums or conferences. While it’s nice for us to be able to share with colleagues, it’s a bit of an echo chamber. We already know what is going on. We are not the people who need to hear the messages.
As a result of my YouTube ban, we will be posting the videos on this site in the hopes of continuing the prevention effort.
Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.
Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.
