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Last week, YouTube came under fire after it chose not to remove videos containing homophobic slurs. The decision came after Vox host Carlos Maza tweeted about ongoing harassment from Steven Crowder, which included a video compilation of Crowder making homophobic comments like calling Maza a “lispy queer.” On Monday, YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki attempted to issue an apology in response to an audience question at Recode’s Code Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I know that the decision we made was very hurtful to the LGBTQ community and that was not our intention at all,” Wojcicki said. “I thought it was really important to be upfront about that and to say that, that was not our intention. And we’re really sorry about that.” "Are you really sorry for anything that happened to the LGBTQ community? Or are you just sorry they were offended?" Watch @SusanWojcicki 's response at #CodeCon : pic.twitter.com/5MqJxL8QVS — Recode (@Recode) June 10, 2019 When Maza first tweeted about the...
Google announced today that it will be removing a controversial “conversion therapy” app from its store after pressure from civil rights groups. Google was suddenly willing to cooperate on the same day of losing an endorsement from a top LGBTQ rights group over its failure to pull a conversion therapy app. The app in question is Living Hope Ministries, and it can no longer be found in Google’s store, as confirmed by TechCrunch and Axios . The controversy around the app came early on. Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft all removed the app from their own platforms after Truth Wins Out, an organization opposing conversion therapy, launched their own petition. Then, it became the subject of a Change.org petition with over 142,000 signatures urging Google to remove it. Previously, Google maintained that the app didn’t violate its Play Store terms of service. Now, Google reportedly told Axios, “After consulting with outside advocacy groups, reviewing our policies, and making sure we had a...
Every year, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) —an LGBTQ civil rights group —publishes a corporate equality index rating companies on how well they treat LGBTQ people. Typically, Google scores high on the list and receives a 100 percent rating , until now. HRC has made the decision to suspend Google from its 2019 corporate equality index after the company failed to remove a conversion therapy app. In footnotes of the report, HRC wrote that it had become aware of an app distributed in the Google Play Store supporting the practice of conversion therapy. HRC went on to say: “Such practices have been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization for decades. Minors are especially vulnerable, and conversion therapy can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide. Pending remedial steps by the company to address this app that can cause harm to the LGBTQ community the CEI rating is suspended.” — Human Rights Campaign The app, called Living Hope...
Apple has removed an app promoting anti-gay messages from the App Store after an LGBT rights organization petitioned against it. According to The Dallas Morning News, the app was created three years ago by Living Hope Ministries, a Texas based non-profit that’s been accused of gay conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual identity. On its website, the organization claims to “disciple young adults who are actively seeking Christian support as they pursue Christ and His design for sexuality.” The app has been available in Google, Amazon, and Windows stores. Truth Wins Out, an organization that opposes conversion therapy and launched a petition against the app , says it was removed from the Apple store a day after it appeared there. “We thank Apple for exemplifying corporate responsibility and taking swift action to remove a dangerous app that stigmatizes and demeans LGBT people,” Truth Wins Out Director Wayne Besen said in a statement. Truth Wins Out...