YouTube will disable recommendations for some users. Will that decrease harmful content?

Warning: This conversation isn’t appropriate for all listeners. YouTube’s recommendation algorithm has always been key to keeping users on the site. Watch a cute cat video, and the platform spews countless more of the same. But that also applies to harmful content, which the YouTube algorithm sometimes serves up not just to adults, but also to kids. Well, this month, Google-owned YouTube said it’ll stop displaying recommended videos to some users who have turned off their watch histories. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali discussed this with Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, an organization that “seeks to hold large technology companies accountable.” Paul said controls on the recommendation algorithm on the site’s homepage are vital.