This is clearly in response to the call from several world leaders for more participation from google et al. in combating terrorism online. Theresa May, as wel

This is clearly in response to the call from several world leaders for more participation from google et al. in combating terrorism online. Theresa May, as well as some Australian leaders have made very general statements that the big tech companies are not doing enough to fight terrorism. I expect that these statements are merely a prelude some announcement of legislation, seeking even greater government powers and access to googles data. I imagine law enforcement would rather have detailed identity information on the people consuming the content, rather than simply having the content removed more efficiently. So while removing propaganda and violent videos from youtube is just going to drive the traffic elsewhere, at least googles action may help resist further government encroachment on our online privacy.