![]() Now the Met sends emails to some channels – but not all of them, according to some artists who have simply received strike notices.Īrtists whose videos are taken down will sometimes respond by uploading more heavily censored versions, but this can be a case of guesswork. Then it went back to the strike system, before channel owners pointed out to YouTube that the company was at risk of driving out some of its most popular users on behalf of the police. Then the Met began providing YouTube with a list of videos to take down – the volume of which meant popular channels were constantly on the brink of a three-strike outage. Initially, YouTube would simply issue strikes, but this changed after channel owners lobbied the platform to alter its practices. What’s unclear is whether all uploaders receive direct correspondence from the Met, or whether YouTube’s strike notifications indicate that a video has been targeted at the force’s request. For uploaders with established audiences stretching into the millions, in some cases providing significant income, this is a serious threat. Three strikes in that period, and you’re out: YouTube deletes the channel. A second strike within the same 90-day period sees those limits extended to two weeks. One strike incurs certain limits on the channel, such as barring new uploads or live streams for a week. At this point, the uploader will temporarily remove the video, by changing its listing to private. The email will include some detail as to why the video is being flagged. According to music industry professionals familiar with the procedure, it goes something like this: the uploader, often a third-party channel, will receive an email from the Met informing them of their intention to refer a video to YouTube for takedown. When a music video is taken down at the Met’s request, the artist in question typically has little say in what happens. “The successful outcome of removal of the videos is self-evident,” the council said at the time. No metrics were used to evaluate the benefits of the project. In 2012, under a move called Operation New Hampshire, Newham Council ordered the removal of 76 videos from YouTube – including WoodGrange E7’s “Who’s That Click”, a flip of Eve’s “Who’s That Girl?” – in an effort to burnish the host borough’s reputation in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.Īccording to Newham Council, in a response obtained via Freedom of Information, there was no projected end point for the 2012 work. ![]() This isn’t the first time that London authorities have tried to conflate music with gang activity. The force is less clear on the relationship between music and gangs, saying only that “the Project Alpha team continues to work to understand the reality of the links between online activity and ‘real world’ offline offending” and that “it does not seek to suppress freedom of expression through any kind of music”. These officers, the Met told VICE, are “street-wise” and “have previous experience of working in gang units across the capital” and possess “extensive insight into gangs, understand the slang and colloquial language used and can spot emerging threats”. The Met says its Project Alpha officers have been given “trusted flagger” status by YouTube to “ that harmful material is removed quickly from the platform”. Since 2020, 1,006 rap videos have been included in the database. With £4.8m in funding from the Home Office to date, Project Alpha maintains and monitors a surveillance database spanning 34 different categories across a range of different social media platforms. In June 2019, Operation Domain was folded into a new online surveillance initiative called Project Alpha. The Met has been actively going after drill rappers since September 2015, when it launched Operation Domain – the name given to the team responsible for monitoring YouTube for what the force described as “videos that incite violence”. ![]() ![]() In the past, the punitive conditions imposed on artists like Skengdo & AM, who were given a suspended sentence for performing “ Attempted 1.0” in 2018, and Digga D, who has to supply police with lyrics and visuals before putting out new material, were most likely to make headlines.īut the FOI figures illustrate the Met doubling down on its fixation with linking rap videos and violent crime – and reveal the willingness of YouTube to work with the police in taking down videos. (A separate report from the New York Times puts the 2020 removal figure at 319, which still presents a significant 60 percent year-on-year increase.) The 2021 figures mark a year-on-year increase of almost 300 percent. In 2020, there were 125 referrals made, resulting in 124 removals a year prior to that, 110 videos were referred and 107 removed. This marks a significant increase on previous years.
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