YouTube says it will ‘actively’ limit reach of low-quality content for kids
Kids’ viewing habits have overwhelmingly shifted online
YouTube has partnered with the companies behind Cocomelon and Baby Shark on an initiative that aims to improve the quality of kids’ content found on the platform.
Neal Mohan, CEO at the Google-owned video giant, has published a blogpost detailing the Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative, which comes after YouTube has faced criticism for the role it has played in a deepening crisis in kids’ programming.
The children’s content sector has become increasingly vocal about its desire to see YouTube take a more active role in distributing high-quality children’s content given its huge command of the audience, whose viewing habits have overwhelmingly shifted online.
YouTube said the initiative will bring together market leaders around the world to support a “unified vision for the development of high quality, age-appropriate content for young people.”
The companies listed by YouTube as being involved in the Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative are: Animaj, Benesse, BouncePatrol, ChuChu TV, CoroCoro Comic, EBS, Japan Football Association, Kedoo, Khan Academy, Leader Entertainment, Mauricio de Sousa Produções, Miraculous Corp, Moonbug, The Pinkfong Company, The Wiggles, TV Cultura and Wildbrain.
Describing it as “another step” in its ongoing commitment to youth safety and digital wellbeing, it will see YouTube “promoting healthy and enriching content for youth” as well as “actively limiting the reach of low-quality content.”
Mohan’s blogpost does not mention what parameters YouTube will use to distinguish between high- and low-quality content on YouTube Kids, nor how it will limit the reach of low-quality content.
However, Mohan said YouTube will enable “greater access” to content that promotes media literacy and digital citizenship, fosters learning in and outside of the classroom and supports development and wellbeing.
Mohan said: “The power of online content to educate, entertain, and connect young people is undeniable. To maximise this potential, it’s crucial to harness the strength and impact of local companies leading in content development and distribution for kids.
“That’s why the Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative brings together market leaders from around the globe to support a unified vision for the development of high quality, age-appropriate content that can have a positive impact on young people’s lives.”
YouTube already collaborates with third-parties and recently worked with the American Psychological Association to create a parents’ guide to navigating quality time spent online.
Mohan said YouTube wishes to collaborate with producers to raise industry standards and “positively shape the online experiences of youth around the world, across a diverse set of languages.”
It is pushing for producers to consider the developmental needs of kids and teens from the outset of product design and content development; set age-appropriate defaults, where applicable, for sexually explicit content and graphic violence; and invest in research-backed resources for families and parents, inclusive of media literacy and digital citizenship.
It said it will also enable settings and offer controls that support healthy screen time for youth and point youth toward crisis resources when viewing content that may include the discussion of sensitive mental health topics such as suicide and self-harm.
Countries including the UK have been putting increasing pressure on tech giants such as YouTube to better protect young users from harm. The UK this week introduced the Online Safety Act, which seeks to combat illegal content online.
Earlier this year, Lisa Nandy, the UK’s culture secretary, promised to put more pressure on the likes of YouTube to make locally made, quality children’s content more prominent on the platform to improve the overall standard of content that kids are directed to via the YouTube algorithm.
Nandy told the BBC: “There’s something great about YouTube – it’s democratising, you’ve got these people who start their careers from their bedrooms. But there’s a balance to be struck to make sure children can find that really good-quality content.”
Baroness Beeban Kidron, founder and chair of 5Rights Foundation, has been one of the figures urging the government to be bolder and more robust in its talks with tech giants.
Kidron has pointed to Moonbug’s preschool phenomenon Cocomelon, which is available on BBC iPlayer as well as YouTube, as an example of a show “developed with people watching how to keep children’s eyes on screen and how many hours they can keep children on the screen.”
