YouTube bans comments on all videos of children

[Arthur]

Source: YouTube (via BBC News)

 

YouTube says it will switch off comments on almost all videos featuring under-18s, in an attempt to "better protect children and families".

 

Several brands stopped advertising on YouTube after discovering that paedophiles were leaving predatory comments on videos of children.

 

YouTube had originally disabled comments on videos that were attracting predatory and obscene comments.

 

But it will now disable comments on almost all videos of minors by default.

 

It said the change would take effect over several months.

 

What was happening?

The BBC first reported that paedophiles were leaving explicit comments on YouTube videos back in 2017.

 

As well as leaving obscene or sexual comments, they were also using the comments section to signal content of interest to other paedophiles.

 

At the time, YouTube said it was "working urgently" to clean up the site.

 

However, in February this year advertisers including AT&T, Nestle and Hasbro suspended their ads after more predatory activity was found.

 

What has YouTube announced?

In a blog post, YouTube said its new policy meant videos of very young children would automatically have the comments section disabled.

 

The move is likely to include videos of toddlers uploaded by parents, as well as short films featuring children by established YouTube stars.

 

Videos of older children and teenagers will typically not have the comments disabled, unless a specific video is likely to attract predatory attention. That could include, for example, a video of a teenager doing gymnastics.

 

YouTube told the BBC it would use algorithms to detect which videos contained children.

 

Millions of hours of footage are uploaded to YouTube every day.

 

When will comments be permitted?

A small number of YouTube content creators will be allowed to enable comments on videos featuring children.

 

These channels will be trusted partners such as family video-bloggers or known YouTube stars.

 

However, they will be required to actively moderate their comments and demonstrate that their videos carry a low risk of attracting predatory comments.

 

YouTube said it had developed a system that was better at detecting predatory comments and removing them.

 

Previously, it had said it would stop video-makers earning ad revenue if paedophiles left explicit comments on their videos, but this will no longer be necessary.

 

What further action is being taken?

In addition to updating its comments policy, YouTube said it had terminated several channels that were "endangering" children.

 

The ban included several channels that were adding shocking content in the middle of children's cartoons.

 

It named FilthyFrankClips as one of the banned channels. It had released a video instructing children how to cut themselves.

 

"Nothing is more important to us than ensuring the safety of young people on the platform," said YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki on Twitter.

 

YouTube's app for children - YouTube Kids - has been criticised for using algorithms to curate content. Inappropriate videos have repeatedly been discovered on the service.

[atcoates]

Knee jerk reaction from another massive platform that fails to protect its users from predatory behavior. They only really did anything when advertisers walked away, not when children were contacted etc.

[elsiegee40]

I would love to know how they’re going to enforce this.

 

And f they succeed it will just move the problem to other platforms where those not of adult age can post and receive the attention they crave to bolster their self worth. It’s so sad that so many people, especially youngsters, think the amount of attention they get on social media quantifies their value as a human being

[LeMarchand]

I would love to know how they’re going to enforce this.

 

And f they succeed it will just move the problem to other platforms where those not of adult age can post and receive the attention they crave to bolster their self worth. It’s so sad that so many people, especially youngsters, think the amount of attention they get on social media quantifies their value as a human being

 

I'm guessing that, as far as YT are concerned, it won't be their problem.

[atcoates]

I would love to know how they’re going to enforce this.

 

And f they succeed it will just move the problem to other platforms where those not of adult age can post and receive the attention they crave to bolster their self worth. It’s so sad that so many people, especially youngsters, think the amount of attention they get on social media quantifies their value as a human being

 

Fundamentally nearly all of these platforms were never setup to protect anyone. They covered there own back sides with the "self policing" but that didn't work out to well. As the NSPCC said they've failed to self regulate themselves for the last ten years. The sheer volume of content makes this nearly an impossible task. You'd probably have to redesign all these platforms from the ground up to make them safe, but as they're fundametnally places for sharing contents and comments I'm not sure how that would work.