YouTube Has Removed Over 100 U.K. Drill Rap Videos Off of its Platform After Request From London Police

Is this censorship?

Google's YouTube has removed over 100 U.K. Drill rap videos from its platform after a request from London police. 

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According to Capital Xtra, London's Metropolitan Police Service requested 129 videos be taken down from the platform. Of that 129 requested, YouTube has deleted 102 videos. This is an extreme sweep by YouTube. Before this update, YouTube only removed 30 U.K. Drill videos since 2015.

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Detective Superintendent Mike West is proud of this development, in a statement saying :

The fact we’ve got more taken down in six months compared to in two and a half, three years, is a step in the right direction.

The videos are being removed because authorities believe the subgenre invokes violence, especially when specific gangs, sets, and violent acts are mentioned.

West specified by saying:

The key distinction is naming of individuals or the code word for the individuals or gangs...I’m talking about people deliberately calling out, naming other gangs to generate purely a violent retaliatory response – that’s the difference.

A YouTube spokesperson commented on the sweep by saying:

We have developed policies specifically to help tackle videos related to knife crime in the U.K. and are continuing to work constructively with experts on this issue...We have a dedicated process for the police to flag videos directly to our teams because we often need specialist context from law enforcement to identify real-life threats.

U.K. Drill is an offset of the Chicago Drill scene that was popularized by rappers like Chief Keef, King Louie, Lil Durk, and more.

Source: Capital Xtra