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YouTube is addressing spam comments with better detection and 24-hour bans

YouTube comments have turned into a cesspool of spam for many, with scams being rampant on many channels. YouTube is now addressing this problem with a number of new actions, including 24-hour bans for accounts that leave abusive comments.

Announced in a community post this week, YouTube is taking three core actions to address spam and abuse.

This starts with generally improved detection of spam comments. YouTube says that it is “improving our automated detection systems and machine learning models to identify and remove spam,” but there are no specifics on the improvements being made. Bot detection for comments on livestreams has similarly been improved.

The bigger news here is that YouTube will start notifying users if their comments are removed as being abusive. For now, this notification only works in English with more languages planned in the “coming months.”

If users leave “multiple” abusive comments, a 24-hour timeout will block all comments from that account temporarily. YouTube explains:

After you post a comment, you may get a notification that says that commenting has been paused for your account. Commenting may be paused when YouTube’s system finds that you repeatedly left comments that could violate one or more of our Community Guidelines. Your ability to comment may be paused for up to 24 hours.

These changes are rolling out already and, based on prior testing, have been successful in cutting back on spam and abuse in comments.

More on YouTube:

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.


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