A while ago I told you about the deceptive videos that your children could find on YouTube, in which it seemed to be a recognized children's cartoon, but in reality they were videos made by users and with violent content, which are definitely not suitable for children.
Finally, after many complaints on social networks, YouTube implemented a new policy to prevent these contents from being seen by children. We tell you what it is about and how you can protect your children from this kind of content.
Beware of cartoons that are not what they seem
For several months many parents have alerted about some videos on YouTube that they used popular characters like Peppa Pig or Frozen but whose contents were violent or not suitable for children.
The main problem with this type of content is that they are videos that appear to be something that they are not, since by using these characters, they are loved and admired by millions of children in the world, It is easy to get confused and think that it is indeed a simple and innocent episode from our children's favorite series.
The concern we have as parents is that this kind of videos could have a highly negative impact on children, because they start as any of the cartoons they like, but suddenly they have a dark turn in which situations arise where the characters are they add to each other, some even with bloody scenes in which some of them die.
The steps YouTube has taken
According to The Guardian, a few months ago YouTube updated its advertising policies, where it is now clearly indicated that Videos that show children characters in inappropriate behaviors will not be eligible for advertising on the platform.
The intention of the company was that by not obtaining any income with such videos, the creation of them would be reduced and in this way they would eventually stop making them. However, this measure was not enough, so they now created a new policy.
Derived from the fact that this first change did not work and thanks to the accusations and claims of millions of parents, YouTube finally created a new policy that will place age restrictions on those videos that inappropriately use characters from children's or family programs:
Some videos do not violate our policies, but they may not be suitable for all users. In these cases, minors and users who are not logged in may not be able to see the content.
When evaluating whether the content is suitable for all audiences, we consider aspects such as the following:
- Vulgar language
- Violence and disturbing images
- Nudes and sexually suggestive content
- Representation of harmful or dangerous activities
To learn more about what you can do to prevent your video from being restricted based on age, visit our Policy Center.
If you plan to monetize a video, check our policies, since the videos with age restriction are not eligible to monetize them and will not be shown in certain sections of YouTube.
What this new policy does is prevent users who are not logged in or who are registered as under 18, can watch this kind of videos. Regarding YouTube Kids, he pointed out that all those videos are banned, as the content is aimed at children under 13.
Still, we must also act
It's important pointing that the videos that YouTube restricts are only those that are reported by users, so we cannot trust that this new age restriction policy is 100% effective. Regardless of the steps YouTube takes, we must remember two things:
- YouTube is a platform for users over 13 years old.
- We as parents are responsible for controlling how and what our children look at.
Our most important job is to protect and educate our children, and this of course includes the monitor the contents (news, videos, programs) to which they are exposed. We cannot simply stay comfortably with the measures that the company has implemented.
Personally I am of the idea that children should not have their own or exclusive tablets for personal use, but like many mothers, sometimes I have come to see with my daughter some videos on YouTube from my iPad, but always from music channels and songs for children and I also try not to spend much time in front of a screen.
Another security measure we can take is to use other services. At home for example, the platform we mainly use is Netflix with the profile for children and so far we have not taken any dislike, because it is a much more controlled medium than YouTube, in which only content selected by the company appears.
Let us always keep in mind that it is we who must ensure that the content to which our children have access is appropriate for their age, and this we will achieve while being on the lookout and close to them.
Photos | iStock
Via | Parents
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