The big headline in 2019: President Trump and other Republican lawmakers have accused Google of suppressing conservative content in its search engine.
But you should really pay attention to:
YouTube's content problem.
Conspiracy theories, fake news and explicit content are not hard to find on YouTube — worse still, YouTube's algorithm sometimes even recommends them, despite Google's efforts to fix it up.
“This is an area we acknowledge there’s more work to be done,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in his testimony before Congress regarding questions of conspiracy theory videos on YouTube. Specifically, Pichai was asked about why videos suggesting Hillary Clinton killed young girls during satanic rituals were allowed on the platform. “With our growth comes more responsibility, and we’re committed to doing better as we invest more in that area.”
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has also acknowledged ths issue, saying: "I’ve also seen up-close that there can be another, more troubling, side of YouTube’s openness. I’ve seen how some bad actors are exploiting our openness to mislead, manipulate, harass or even harm.”
Wojcicki’s statement, however, came from a December 2017 blog post and since then, calls to address the problems surrounding YouTube’s content and policies have intensified.
YouTuble is one of Google's most important ad revenue engines outside of search. If YouTube doesn’t take more action to clean up its mess soon, 2019 could be the year that viewers and creators decide to pack up shop and find a new home for online video.