| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident of comments being purged on YouTube due to a bug in its moderation algorithm has happened before within the same organization. The incident of critical phrases being automatically deleted by YouTube's moderation system has occurred consistently for the past six months, as reported by The Verge [99643]. This indicates a recurring issue within YouTube's platform.
(b) There is no specific information in the provided article about a similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the incident where YouTube's moderation algorithm mistakenly deleted comments critical of China's Communist party. The deletion of phrases like '共匪' and '五毛' was attributed to a bug in the moderation algorithm, which was part of the system development and auto-moderation processes [99643].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the accidental removal of videos and live streams by YouTube's auto-moderation tool. Due to COVID-19, many human moderators were out of work, leading to an increased reliance on auto-moderation. This reliance on automated systems for moderation led to the unintended removal of content, such as the live stream of the Women of Sex Tech conference, showcasing issues introduced during the operation of the system [99643]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident on YouTube, where comments critical of China's Communist party were being automatically deleted, was attributed to a bug in its moderation algorithm [99643]. This bug originated from within the system itself, specifically in the auto-moderation systems that YouTube had in place. The phrases critical of the Communist party were mistakenly added to YouTube's filters, leading to their consistent deletion for the past six months. YouTube acknowledged that this was an error in their enforcement systems and was investigating the issue.
(b) outside_system: The incident also involved external factors related to the context in which YouTube operates. For example, YouTube is currently blocked in China, which raises questions about why phrases critical of the Communist party were added to its auto-moderated list of terms. Additionally, YouTube's increased reliance on auto-moderation was partly attributed to the impact of COVID-19 on human moderators, indicating external circumstances influencing the software failure incident. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident related to non-human actions:
- The software failure incident on YouTube, where comments critical of China's Communist party were being automatically deleted, was attributed to a bug in the platform's moderation algorithm [99643].
- YouTube mentioned that the deletion of critical phrases was an error in their enforcement systems, indicating that the issue was caused by a non-human factor, specifically a bug in the auto-moderation system [99643].
(b) The software failure incident related to human actions:
- The incident involving the deletion of comments critical of China's Communist party on YouTube was not directly linked to human actions but rather to a bug in the moderation algorithm [99643].
- While human rights activist Jennifer Zeng brought attention to the issue on Twitter, the root cause of the failure was identified as a bug in the auto-moderation system, indicating that human actions did not directly contribute to the software failure [99643]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The incident reported in Article 99643 regarding YouTube purging comments critical of China's Communist party was attributed to a bug in the platform's moderation algorithm. This bug in the software caused the deletion of comments containing specific phrases, indicating that the failure originated in the software rather than the hardware [99643].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The software failure incident reported in Article 99643 was specifically caused by a bug in YouTube's moderation algorithm. This bug led to the unintended deletion of comments containing phrases critical of China's Communist party, highlighting a failure originating in the software itself [99643]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 99643 is categorized as non-malicious. The incident involved YouTube purging comments critical of China's Communist party due to a bug in its moderation algorithm. The deletion of these comments was not intentional harm but rather a result of an error in the enforcement systems. YouTube spokesperson mentioned, "This appears to be an error in our enforcement systems and we are investigating" [99643]. The incident was attributed to the auto-moderation systems mistakenly flagging phrases critical of the Communist party, leading to their deletion for the past six months. This unintentional action was further exacerbated by the increased reliance on auto-moderation tools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many human moderators out of work.
(b) The software failure incident was not driven by malicious intent but rather by technical issues within the moderation algorithm, highlighting a non-malicious failure in the system. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor_decisions:
- YouTube's deletion of comments critical of China's Communist party was attributed to a bug in its moderation algorithm, which was described as an error in their enforcement systems [99643].
- The phrases critical of the Communist party were automatically added to YouTube's filters and consistently deleted for the past six months, indicating a decision to include these phrases in the auto-moderation list [99643].
- YouTube has faced criticisms for accommodating censorship views of China's Communist party, such as creating a search engine called 'Project Dragonfly' that adhered to China's strict rules around free speech [99643].
(b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental_decisions:
- YouTube mentioned that the deletion of critical phrases was an error in their enforcement systems and is currently under investigation, suggesting that the incident was unintentional [99643].
- The removal of videos due to the increased reliance on auto-moderation during COVID-19, as human moderators were unable to work, also points to unintended consequences of the software's decisions [99643]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the case of YouTube purging comments critical of China's Communist party. The incident was attributed to a bug in YouTube's moderation algorithm, leading to the automatic deletion of phrases like '共匪' and '五毛' without proper justification or explanation [99643].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is highlighted by YouTube's statement that the deletion of critical phrases was an error in their enforcement systems. This accidental deletion was not intentional but rather a result of the auto-moderation system mistakenly flagging and removing specific phrases without clear reasoning or oversight [99643]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in Article 99643 regarding YouTube's deletion of comments critical of China's Communist party can be categorized as a temporary failure. The incident was attributed to a bug in YouTube's moderation algorithm, which led to the automatic deletion of specific phrases criticizing the Communist party. YouTube acknowledged the error in its enforcement systems and mentioned that they are investigating the issue. The deletion of critical phrases was highlighted as a recent issue, indicating that it was not a permanent failure but rather a temporary issue that arose due to specific circumstances [99643]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [99643].
(b) omission: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as an omission where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). YouTube's moderation algorithm was deleting comments critical of China's Communist party due to a bug, leading to the omission of these comments [99643].
(c) timing: The software failure incident in the article is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions correctly but too late or too early [99643].
(d) value: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a value failure where the system performs its intended functions incorrectly. In this case, the moderation algorithm incorrectly flagged and deleted comments critical of the Communist party [99643].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident in the article is not related to a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [99643].
(f) other: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as an "other" behavior where the system behaves in a way not described in the options (a to e). In this case, the system's auto-moderation system mistakenly flagged and deleted comments critical of the Communist party due to a bug in the algorithm [99643]. |