YouTube has apologised for a “technical error” that led to the site blocking videos created by members of the LGBTQ community through the platform’s “restricted mode” feature meant to facilitate parental control. The feature hides content flagged as sensitive by the algorithm the Google-owned platform uses.

“Sorry for all the confusion with Restricted Mode,” YouTube said on Twitter on Monday. “Some videos have been incorrectly labeled and that’s not right. We’re on it! More to come.” The platform defines the feature as one that can be used to “screen out potentially objectionable content that you may prefer not to see or don’t want others in your family to see on YouTube”. However, the company does not elaborate on what constitutes “sensitive” content.

The mistake was brought to light by criticism from the community and outside. “What this is assuming is that there is no such thing as LGBT kids or LGBT families,” said transgender YouTube star Stef Sanjati, according to CNN. “Because they are assuming that LGBT topics are kid-unfriendly and family-unfriendly, which could not be further from the truth.” Around a dozen of her videos were blocked with the same feature. She also made a video in protest against the discrimination and stigma.

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