May 11, 2013 | Online

YouTube pulls ad promoting sex rights for the disabled

YouTube is being criticized for pulling Come4.com’s 'The Lover' video.

The video promotes sex rights for the disabled. Asta Philpot, who lives with arthrogryposis, narrates a soft porn video while explaining how hookers, though illegal, help him have a fulfilling sex life.

YouTube says it pulled the ad because it violated its “terms of service."

"When people see content that they think is inappropriate they can flag it and it is reviewed by our staff," explained a spokesman. "If the content breaks our guidelines, we remove it."

Philpot said YouTube should look beyond the nudes. “A friend of mine died without ever having a [sexual] experience and I don't ever want to let that happen again," he said, adding that the message was important and needed to be shared.

French advertising agency Being/TBWA executive Alasdhair Macgregor Hastie said YouTube is paranoid about bad press and that "nudity immediately sets their lawyers' teeth on edge.” If "they'll look at the film properly … [they'll] recognize that it's a subject that needs talking about and put it back up again.”

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