“The Cleaners,” Cleaned – Google’s YouTube Removes Trailer for Content Moderation Documentary, Citing “Shocking Content”

PLEASE SEE THIS UPDATE FOR IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION Today, news from France: it seems the French outlet of the Franco-German television channel ARTÉ (known as ARTE in Germany) has found itself on the wrong side of Google and YouTube's opaque and mysterious content moderation policy for videos. The irony? The video that has been removed is a… Continue reading “The Cleaners,” Cleaned – Google’s YouTube Removes Trailer for Content Moderation Documentary, Citing “Shocking Content”

Pix or It Didn’t Happen: It’s on You to Prove Your Abuse

I came across a disturbing case from the Languedoc region of France today, while perusing headlines on Salon.com.  A 14 year-old girl who had been repeatedly victimized sexually by her father had reportedly caught the abuse by employing her computer's webcam. The key to the most disturbing aspects of this extremely upsetting story lies in… Continue reading Pix or It Didn’t Happen: It’s on You to Prove Your Abuse

Darnton, Robert. “Google and the New Digital Future.” New York Review of Books December 17, 2009.

Robert Darnton is an historian and the Director of the Library at Harvard University whose work has focused on the history of the book, primarily in 18th century France, about which he is an expert. As such, he takes a long view, therefore, of books and book history as they pertain to the culture. His… Continue reading Darnton, Robert. “Google and the New Digital Future.” New York Review of Books December 17, 2009.