Paying Attention to the Algorithm Behind the Curtain: Bringing Transparency to YouTube's Demonetization Algorithms
Paying Attention to the Algorithm Behind the Curtain: Bringing Transparency to YouTube's Demonetization Algorithms
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DOI：
10.1145/3555209
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发表时间：
2022-11
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Arun Dunna;Katherine A. Keith;Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez;Rishab Nithyanand;Brendan T. O'Connor
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文献类型：
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作者：
Arun Dunna;Katherine A. Keith;Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez;Rishab Nithyanand;Brendan T. O'Connor
长期以来，YouTube一直是独立视频内容创作者分享作品的首选网站。YouTube的吸引力在很大程度上要归功于它通过YouTube合作伙伴计划(YPP)与合格的内容创作者分享广告收入的做法。近年来，货币化政策的变化以及制定货币化决策的算法系统的引入一直是内容创作者和平台之间争议和紧张的来源。有许多指控表明，潜在的货币化算法优先对待更大的频道，并通过使其内容去货币化有效地审查少数群体的声音。在本文中，我们对YouTube货币化算法进行了测量。我们首先衡量不同货币化决策的发生率以及实现这些决策所需的时间。接下来，我们分析了视频内容、频道受欢迎程度与这些决策之间的关系。最后，我们探讨了去货币化与渠道观看增长率之间的关系。综上所述，我们的工作表明，视频上市后非货币化并不常见，这一过程的特征与频道规模和(以无法解释的方式)视频话题有关，非货币化似乎对较小频道的增长速度产生了恶劣影响。我们还强调了与进行像我们这样的大规模算法审计相关的挑战，并提出了在算法决策中提高透明度的论点。
YouTube has long been a top-choice destination for independent video content creators to share their work. A large part of YouTube's appeal is owed to its practice of sharing advertising revenue with qualifying content creators through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). In recent years, changes to the monetization policies and the introduction of algorithmic systems for making monetization decisions have been a source of controversy and tension between content creators and the platform. There have been numerous accusations suggesting that the underlying monetization algorithms engage in preferential treatment of larger channels and effectively censor minority voices by demonetizing their content. In this paper, we conduct a measurement of the YouTube monetization algorithms. We begin by measuring the incidence rates of different monetization decisions and the time taken to reach them. Next, we analyze the relationships between video content, channel popularity and these decisions. Finally, we explore the relationship between demonetization and a channel's view growth rate. Taken all together, our work suggests that demonetization after a video is publicly listed is not a common occurrence, the characteristics of the process are associated with channel size and (in unexplainable ways) video topic, and demonetization appears to have a harsh influence on the growth rate of smaller channels. We also highlight the challenges associated with conducting large-scale algorithm audits such as ours and make an argument for more transparency in algorithmic decision-making.