Responding to the Rutgers University tragedy
At YouTube, we pride ourselves on creating an accepting, open and diverse community, and consistently strive to promote these ideals — both online and off. Tyler Clementi’s death, as well as similar tragedies, have sparked questions about privacy and harassment that will only increase as access to the web grows. So let us be clear: Intolerance is not OK. We will not stand by and allow for egregious violations of user privacy to threaten a vibrant and creative online community. YouTube will always prioritize the safety of our users — we encourage you to reach out and let us know if you or someone you know is in need of help.
In the wake of this tragic event, we’d like to take a moment to remind our community of the many resources available to individuals dealing with cyberbullying and online harassment. We understand that the internet can be a very tough place to navigate, and we want you to know that you are not alone in dealing with issues of privacy and harassment. If you or someone you know is at risk, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. We also encourage you to visit YouTube’s Help & Safety Center to learn about tools to deal with abuse and harassment online.
Finally, check out the It Gets Better Project, a venue for individuals to share and hear stories from the LGBT community about the difficulties of coming out in what can be an often judgmental society.
We hope you take some time to think carefully about your responsibilities to yourselves and to the online community as you continue to use YouTube and other social media websites. Remember that public videos can have many unintended consequences - as a result, we encourage you to consider the possible effects your videos and comments may have on the people around you.
YouTube Policy Team recently watched "It Gets Better: Dan and Terry."
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2 comments:
This is a good Blog. Thank you for speaking on such a timely and much needed subject. Some sites have built-in features that prevent ill intended words from even seeing the light of day.
I often see such vile words written in the "comment" sections here on YouTube that it often makes me wonder if we need to have such preventative features here.
Freedom of speech is not only a right, it's also a privilege, and when abused it must be revoked on a social medium like this. Cyber bullies and cyber cowards have no respect nor social decorum and must be treated on that "small brained" level.
The It Gets Better Project is such a simple idea that has created a huge amount of social change at such a horrific time for the LGBTQ community. Although it has indeed gotten better for me as a queer person, 6 suicides within several weeks shows that there is clearly more work to be done.
To hear from influential LGBTQ celebrities about their struggles growing up queer will hopefully make our youth feel like they are not alone. While it is unfortunate that such a terrible turn of events lead to such a wonderful project, I hope there will someday be a time where kids don't see killing themselves as the only option to escape victimization and desolation.
I also hope that these videos will change the minds of the bullies who victimized and continue to spread hate. Once their minds are open and accepting, most of the battle towards equality will have been won.
Great post and thank you for covering this important project!
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