YouTube under attack for hosting ‘shoplifting guide’ that teaches crooks how to rob high street stores
After The Sun revealed YouTube hosted guides for women on how to perform dangerous abortions, the video site faces pressure as videos teaching people how to beat shop security tags surface
YOUTUBE faced fresh pressure last night over videos teaching people how to shoplift.
The shock clips showed would-be thieves how to beat security alarms and tags at high street stores.
One viewer boasted: “It works — I just tried it.”
The scandal comes after The Sun revealed YouTube hosted sick guides giving women instructions on how to perform dangerous home abortions.
Other disturbing clips found by our investigators showed DIY circumcisions and erasing tattoos using grinders.
Yesterday MPs insisted that YouTube, owned by Google, remove all offensive content.
One shoplifting video, viewed 202,125 times, showed how to line a bag with foil and clingfilm so that security tags did not trigger alarms. It stated: “This is very effective. Now you can go and steal as much as you can.”
Another video told how to use magnets to beat tags.
In February a shoplifter boasted he went on a stealing spree after watching a video tutorial on YouTube.
Joseph Burwood, 22, targeted four stores at Clarks Village in Street, Somerset. He told JPs he “wanted to give it a go”.
Burwood got a 12-month conditional discharge.
Shoplifting costs the UK economy more than £6billion a year. The number of offences has risen from 300,000 in 2012-2013 to 370,000 in 2016.
Politicians want YouTube held to the same standard as newspapers and broadcasters.
MP Julian Knight, of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: “Enough is enough.
“I congratulate The Sun on highlighting this.”
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YouTube last night deleted the shoplifting videos.
A spokesman said: “YouTube does not allow videos on our platform that provide instructions on how to steal.
“We work quickly to remove them from the platform when we become aware of them.”