After YouTube vlogger Logan Paul caused international outrage by posting a video that showed the body of a man who had committed suicide at Aokigahara forest outside Mt. Fuji in Japan, the video platform has finally responded in a series of tweets:
An open letter to our community:
Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You're right to be. You deserve to know what's going on.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: "That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness."
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we're sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
It's taken us a long time to respond, but we've been listening to everything you've been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we'll have more to share soon on steps we're taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
"Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently," the thread reads. "You're right to be. You deserve to know what's going on. Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week. Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views."
YouTube continued:
"The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences. It's taken us a long time to respond, but we've been listening to everything you've been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we'll have more to share soon on steps we're taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again."
Related | 5 YouTubers Who Deserve Your Attention (and Are Not Logan Paul)
You'll notice the platform didn't apologize for hosting the content in the first place, and its responsibility for its users and what they upload has been a topic of debate as of late. As YouTube grows, its ability to moderate increasingly massive volume of streaming data will become more and more difficult, and it will need to contend with that and how to better respond when — not if — something like this happens again.