Yubo adds safety features after reports Uvalde gunman used social media app
Yubo announced it is adding new safety policies and features after users reported the social media app had been used by the Uvalde gunman to post disturbing content.
The announcement comes two weeks after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
“The devastating events of 24 May in Uvalde, Texas, brought to light systemic issues in society that need to be addressed,” Yubo CEO Sacha Lazimi said in the Tuesday, June 7, release.
Since the deadly shooting, Yubo, a social media app used to chat and livestream, said it has expedited the implementation of its new safety practices. This includes updating the app’s risk-detection policy by applying more “severe standards to content review and intervention across the board.”
The app also plans to enhance its user-reporting capabilities this summer so users can attach up to four media files, like screenshots or video recordings, to their reports to help provide better context about potentially inappropriate content, the release said.
The company said it also introduced audio moderation technology for live streams to provide a “comprehensive automatic moderation across the platform.”
Lastly, Yubo deployed a new algorithm meant to analyze “a combination of signals” such as “keywords, emojis and images” when examining content, according to the release.
This, the company says, will help bolster safety by adding context for Yubo’s emergency escalation team.
“We remain shocked and deeply saddened by this recent tragedy,” Lazimi said in the release. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all who have been impacted.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Yubo adds safety features after reports Uvalde gunman used social media app."
