YouTube failed to take down hardcore porn videos with MILLIONS of views
A Sun investigation reveals how Google's hugely popular video-sharing site is a haven for hardcore porn
YOUTUBE is filled with hardcore pornographic videos that have racked up millions of views.
The Sun uncovered dozens of smutty tapes on the video-sharing site, despite YouTube's firm rules forbidding porn.
One video featuring explicit sex scenes had racked up an incredible 24.8million views.
The clip had been uploaded to YouTube in March 2015, but hadn't been taken down.
Another video uploaded in the same month had 11million views.
We found explicit videos that featured full intercourse, oral sex and even rape scenes – none of which were censored.
The Google-owned video site claims that it takes down sexual content.
Its nudity and sexual content policy reads: "YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content.
"If this describes your video, even if it's a video of yourself, don't post it on YouTube.
"If a video is intended to be sexually provocative, it is less likely to be acceptable for YouTube.
"Sexually explicit content like pornography is not allowed."
One prison sex scene included a man forcibly having anal sex with another man.
And another video depicted women being kept in prison cells by men who forced them to have sex.
YouTube says it forbids extreme content like this.
"In most cases, violent, graphic or humiliating fetishes are not allowed to be shown on YouTube," the site's policy reads.
The videos are being shared using coded terms for pornography, like "pron" or "pron finder".
Hundreds of clips are uploaded to pornographic playlists, created by users who want to secretly highlight XXX material on YouTube.
A YouTube user, who declined to be named, told The Sun: "I have been watching this channel for over a year and they're constantly adding new playlists daily.
"Last year I reported 1,000s of videos, with nearly 70% being true hardcore XXX porn.
"How does this one channel get so many links so fast daily if they are not the ones uploading them under other accounts, and then adding new links daily under their channel?"
The user added that they'd seen "a few movies out there with bestiality too" – that's sexual acts with animals.
Part of the problem is that YouTube doesn't allow users to report playlists.
That means playlists can be created that are constantly flooded with – and emptied of – hardcore porn.
And users have no easy way of letting YouTube know this is happening.
We found a number of pornographic movies on YouTube that were created as far back as 1969, and as recently as 2002.
One porn flick had only been on YouTube since August last year, but had already been seen more than 450,000 times.
Some of the videos are behind YouTube's age-restriction block.
But Google has no way of actually verifying whether users creating YouTube accounts are actually older than 18 years old.
That means it would be very easy for a child to create a YouTube account with a fake age, and them stumble upon these videos.
It's also possible that a child using an adult's YouTube account – signed into a computer, tablet or TV – could easily access these explicit videos.
The Sun has made YouTube aware of the explicit videos in question.
Since this report went live, YouTube has taken down a number of the offending videos.
In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said: "We do not allow pornography on YouTube.
"We do allow videos with artistic or educational value but we apply an age restriction where appropriate."
Earlier this week, The Sun revealed how YouTube was showing pornographic video ads on videos.
The explicit ads were directing users to XXX webcam sites, where viewers pay men and women to perform sex acts live on camera.
YouTube by the numbers
The facts...
- The first YouTube video was uploaded in April 2005
- More than 1.3billion people use YouTube around the world
- Over 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
- More than 5billion videos are watch on YouTube each day
- YouTube is an American company, but 80% of its views come from outside the US
- More than half of YouTube views are from mobile devices – like phones or tablets
- Eight out of 10 18-49 year olds watch YouTube
Following our YouTube porn ads article, a YouTube spokesperson told The Sun: "We have clear policies against ads featuring graphic adult content.
"When we become aware of an ad that violates our policies, we immediately remove it and take appropriate action, including, and up to, suspending the responsible account."
Back in March, a separate Sun report revealed how YouTube prompting users to "order steroids" in a rogue advertisement.
One user told us his children were forced to watch the full 49-second ad before being able to see a video of kittens.
Anabolic steroids are a dangerous way to build muscle mass very quickly, and are controlled as Class C substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in the UK.
But the rogue YouTube ad for steroids promised "fast results" with "no side effects".
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Another Sun report in March told how the dedicated YouTube Kids app had video guides on how to make an air rifle.
It also revealed how the video app for children featured clips starring disgraced TV paedos Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris.
And just two days later, we revealed how the YouTube Kids app – intended for users under the age of 13 – had diet videos.
Campaigners feared youngsters viewing the clips could suffer eating disorders, body image problems and depression.
Do you think Google needs to work harder at ensuring YouTube is porn-free? Let us know in the comments!
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