[2021 National Audit] Kim Kyunghoon, Google Korea CEO, "We Will Improve YouTube's Inappropriate Recommendation Algorithm"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Google Korea has announced that it will improve YouTube's algorithm, which recommends inappropriate videos.

On the 5th, Kim Kyunghoon, CEO of Google Korea, who appeared as a witness at the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee (STIBC) audit, made this statement regarding the controversy over YouTube's recommendation algorithm.

On that day, Joo Ho-young, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "There are many filtering issues, such as recommending 19+ content to teenagers and repeatedly showing hateful videos." Previously, YouTube faced controversy when inappropriate content related to pedophilia involving Elsa, a popular character from Disney's 2017 hit animation 'Frozen,' was classified by the algorithm and recommended through YouTube Kids for children.

In response, CEO Kim said, "We cannot completely control inappropriate content, but we are controlling it significantly more than before," adding, "We are working to improve YouTube's recommended video algorithm." He also stated, "We use artificial intelligence (AI) and have many personnel reviewing a large amount of content, but there are still some shortcomings," and "We are continuously investing to address these issues and are collaborating with civic groups to work on the mentioned content."