Sky News Australia challenges ‘inconsistent’ YouTube rules

Sky News Australia’s chief executive Paul Whittaker has written to online video-sharing platform YouTube to question its editorial policies concerning Covid-19.

Sky News chief executive Paul Whittaker has asked YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki to provide a clearer explanation for the reasons behind the platform removing 21 Sky videos from its site.

Sky News Australia has written to online video-sharing platform YouTube to question its editorial policies concerning Covid-19, saying they are “internally inconsistent and incapable of compliance”.

In the letter, obtained by The Australian, the broadcaster’s chief executive Paul Whittaker demands that YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki provide a clearer explanation for the reasons behind the platform removing 21 Sky videos from its site and preventing Sky from uploading any content for seven days.

Mr Whittaker also asks YouTube to explain comments made to other media outlets about their suspension – YouTube was quoted as saying Sky was suspended for “content that denies the existence of Covid-19”.

“That suggestion is expressly rejected,” Mr Whittaker says in the letter to YouTube.

Mr Whittaker will appear on Friday before an ongoing Senate hearing into media diversity that was established in November last year following a petition launched by former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

The Sky News CEO is expected to front the hearing to answer questions about the YouTube ban.

In his letter, Mr Whittaker explains that YouTube’s policies prohibit the publication of content that contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organisation’s “medical information” – but that information and federal and state government advice has changed during the pandemic.

“Not only is YouTube’s policy incapable of compliance, the process for review and removal of content on the YouTube platform suffers from an absence of transparency and a clearly articulated process which affords operators of YouTube channels the opportunity to address YouTube’s concerns or to challenge an assessment,” he writes. During the pandemic Sky News Australia had its own dedicated 24-hour Covid-19 channel which operated for 15 months until June 1 this year.

Sky News Australia’s seven-day ban from YouTube finished last Thursday evening and the channel now has 1.88 million subscribers on the platform.

Among the removed videos — including five last Thursday — is a two-minute news report that did not go to air on the Sky News TV channel and was only seen online.

It was titled “Twitter shares plunge by 10 per cent following the Trump ban”.

YouTube told the channel the video was removed because “content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors or glitches changed the outcome of the U.S. 2020 presidential election is not allowed on YouTube”.

Despite this, the video, which includes a speech from former US president Donald Trump claiming the election was “stolen”, remains on YouTube, with clips from several large media outlets including CNN, ABC News US and WCNC.

Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young’s controversial comments on June 30 that she did “not want under 40s to get AstraZeneca” also remain on YouTube in videos posted by media outlets, including Channel Seven and the ABC — even though those remarks conflict with WHO advice that it is safe for younger people.

Mr Biden’s comments at a CNN Town Hall on July 21 also remain on YouTube. “If you’re vaccinated, you’re not going to be hospitalised … you’re not going to die,” he said. CNN’S Fact Check found Mr Biden’s claim was “inaccurate”.

An ABC video from last Tuesday, in which Norman Swan made controversial comments about intensifying vaccination, can also be found on YouTube. “The residents of NSW, or at least Greater Sydney are guinea pigs in this,” he said. Dr Swan defended the comments on Sunday.

“I fail to see what was either negative or controversial when my comments are taken in context in which I placed them in the interview,” Dr Swan said. But former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth – who was one of the chief advisers last year – was critical of Dr Swan’s “guinea pig” comments.

He also told Nine newspapers on Sunday he should have called out commentators and academics who pushed a zero-Covid strategy — and were highly critical of the AstraZeneca vaccine — earlier.

YouTube was contacted for comment but failed to respond.