Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Saturday November 11 2017, @01:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the there's-always-someone dept.

YouTube to crack down on inappropriate content masked as kids' cartoons

Recent news stories and blog posts highlighted the underbelly of YouTube Kids, Google's children-friendly version of the wide world of YouTube. While all content on YouTube Kids is meant to be suitable for children under the age of 13, some inappropriate videos using animations, cartoons, and child-focused keywords manage to get past YouTube's algorithms and in front of kids' eyes. Now, YouTube will implement a new policy in an attempt to make the whole of YouTube safer: it will age-restrict inappropriate videos masquerading as children's content in the main YouTube app.

[...] Also, all age-restricted content is not eligible for advertising, which will undoubtedly hit the wallets of the creators making these videos. While it's hard to understand why anyone would make a video about Peppa Pig drinking bleach or a bunch of superheroes and villains participating in a cartoonish yet violent "nursery rhyme," it's been a decent way to make money on YouTube. Some of these videos have amassed hundreds of thousands (and sometimes millions) of views, gleaning ad dollars and channel popularity.

Check the related videos to see some bizarre clickbait. Some are even live action skits performed by adults.

Are we doing enough to traumatize our kids?

Also at The Verge and Medium.

Related: YouTube's "Ad-Friendly" Content Policy may Push one of its Biggest Stars off the Site
Google Fails to Stop Major Brands From Pulling Ads From YouTube


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:24PM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:24PM (#595597) Homepage

    As much as I love Ren and Stimpy (the original, not the adult party cartoon), I wouldn't let me kids of goo-goo-ga-ga age watch that either, and I doubt they'd like it anyway, at least until they were old enough to think fart jokes and butts were funny.

    I had the fortune of attending a live Q & A with John Kricfalusi during the Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted festival of animation, and one of the questions posed was "how the hell did you get that on Nickelodeon of all networks?"

    He replied that back in those days, the animators rather than the suits were still in charge of all the major decisions. Kricfalusi is a great guy, definitely eccentric, he was dressed a lot like Hunter S. Thompson, wearing a Hawiian shirt with a safari hat. It's a goddamn shame how he got fucked over by the industry.