Please wait...
Please wait...

YouTube ‘considers removing kids content’

The YouTube Kids app could be the sole home of YouTube children’s content 

YouTube is reportedly considering radically changing its platform by moving all existing children’s content to the YouTube Kids app, following multiple controversies.

Executives at Google, which owns the video-sharing site, are mulling the overhaul in order to better protect young children, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Google and YouTube have faced criticism in recent years for failing to protect children from viewing harmful content.

In 2017, YouTube pledged to hire thousands of new moderators for both its main platform and YouTube Kids, but the problem has persisted.

Susan Wojcicki

One of the most recent scandals resulted in it removing comment sections from channels featuring children after predatory comments were being posted on videos of kids, with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki forced to offer contrition.

Children’s videos and channels are some of the most popular on YouTube, attracting billions of views, and removing kids’ content from the main platform would be a major undertaking. It would also impact channel owners who gain revenue from advertising around their videos.

The Journal also reports that some employees at Google and YouTube have asked executives to consider disabling the feature that automatically plays another video straight after the one the user is watching has finished.

“We consider lots of ideas for improving YouTube and some remain just that – ideas,” YouTube said in response to the reports.

Last week, the CEO of Aux Mode, a company that specialises in distributing content for online video creators, told C21 he expected that YouTube would continue to face controversies over inappropriate content on the platform.

Please wait...