YouTube urged to stop 5G lies

The federal government has sent a letter to YouTube asking it to remove dangerous COVID-19 misinformation from its platform.

Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Paul Fletcher delivers a speech at the National Press Club in Canberr, Wednesday, December 11, 2019. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

The federal government has written to YouTube asking it to remove 5G misinformation from its platform, with communications minister Paul Fletcher declaring the content is undermining official health advice from the Australian Department of Health.

In the letter dated April 6, seen by The Australian, Fletcher says he’s concerned about misinformation in YouTube videos connecting 5G technology and COVID-19.

“Given the significant harm that could arise from false health advice relating to COVID-19, I am concerned that Google does not intend to remove all such videos from its platform, unless it specifically breaches Google’s policy or Australian law,” Fletcher says in the letter.

“Many Australians are working from home, with their children, and will be accessing digital resources more than usual.

“I further note that many of these videos are monetised, meaning that their creators and YouTube are generating advertising revenue. I note that the Australian Consumer Law prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct in trade and commerce.”

It comes after multiple 5G cell towers were burned down in the UK last week following conspiracy theories linking 5G to the spread of the coronavirus, and a growing number of celebrities including John Cusack and Woody Harrelson have posted on social media linking COVID-19 to 5G.

Fletcher told The Australian his office had communicated to Google more than once about the government’s concern that misinformation about how COVID-19 spreads is a risk to public health.

“It is concerning to see that some platforms are taking longer to recognise that fundamental misunderstandings about the origins and transmission of diseases such as COVID-19 pose a significant risk to public health.

“I strongly encourage all digital platforms to bring their misinformation policies into line with public health imperatives and expectations,” he said.

“The scientific evidence is clear: there is no evidence that 5G is harmful to health.”

The misinformation includes claims that a person’s immune system is affected by electromagnetic energy (EME) from 5G, and that this increases the risk of catching COVID-19, and claims that the deployment of 5G in Wuhan is somehow linked to the spread of coronavirus.

A YouTube spokeswoman said the company was committed to giving people the access to health information they can trust online.

“We’re committed to providing timely and helpful information at this critical time, including raising authoritative content, reducing the spread of harmful misinformation and showing information panels, using data from health authorities, to help combat misinformation,” A YouTube spokeswoman told The Australian.

“We have clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us. Now any content that disputes the existence or transmission of COVID-19, as described by the WHO and local health authorities is in violation of YouTube policies. This includes conspiracy theories which claim that the symptoms are caused by 5G. For borderline content that could misinform users in harmful ways, we reduce recommendations.

“We’ll continue to evaluate the impact of these videos on communities around the world and look forward to maintaining our work with governments and health institutions to keep the public safe and informed during this difficult time.”

Google has also set up a COVID-19 ‘minisite’ with information and resources.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the company was taking aggressive steps to stop misinformation from spreading on its platform.

“Under our existing policies against harmful misinformation, we are starting to remove false claims which link COVID-19 to 5G technology and could lead to physical harm. We will continue to work closely with governments and other tech companies to remove harmful misinformation and have partnered with health authorities like the WHO to connect people to the latest official guidance,” she said.

Kara Hinesley, head of public policy for Twitter Australia, said Twitter was broadening its definition of ‘harm’ to address content that goes against guidance from global and local public health officials.

“Rather than reports, we will enforce this in close co-ordination with trusted partners, including public health authorities and governments, and continue to use and consult with information from those sources when reviewing content,” she said.

“[We are also] instituting a global content severity triage system so we are prioritising the potential rule violations that present the biggest risk of harm and reducing the burden on people to report them; and executing daily quality assurance checks on our content enforcement processes to ensure we’re agile in responding to this rapidly evolving, global disease outbreak.”