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?
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
Related Stories
http://www.vox.com/2016/9/2/12746450/youtube-monetization-phil-defranco-leaving-site
Prominent YouTube star Philip DeFranco is known for his candid, often satirical delivery and his willingness to cover everything from celebrity gossip to memes. As his audience has grown, he's won awards for his informal news series and formed partnerships with major platforms like TMZ and SourceFed.
But on August 31, YouTube disabled monetization for at least 12 of DeFranco's videos. The official reason provided to DeFranco was that his content was either not "advertiser-friendly" or contained "graphic content," or "excessive strong language." DeFranco frequently swears in his videos, and regularly refers to his followers as "Beautiful Bastards." The demonetization means DeFranco will not be able to run ads (read: make money from ads) on any of those videos, and also means his channel is considered to be in violation of YouTube's community guidelines.
"I've seen channels dinged now for talking about depression and anti-bullying. And I've also seen channels like CNN include footage of a Syrian boy covered in blood, after his house was reportedly bombed, and right next to the video is a nice little ad for sneakers. So you get the question, 'Why me and not them?'" he said.
DeFranco pointed out that internet fame doesn't lead to a sustainable full-time income for the vast majority of "celebrities." If YouTube starts cracking down on content for not being "ad-friendly" enough, it could hurt these middle-tier vloggers far worse than a more major figure like DeFranco.
Google has failed to convince major brands (such as AT&T, Verizon, Enterprise Holdings, Volkswagen, and Tesco) to continue advertising on YouTube, following the "revelation" that ads can appear next to extremist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, raunchy, etc. content. From Google's Tuesday response:
We know advertisers don't want their ads next to content that doesn't align with their values. So starting today, we're taking a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content. This includes removing ads more effectively from content that is attacking or harassing people based on their race, religion, gender or similar categories. This change will enable us to take action, where appropriate, on a larger set of ads and sites. We'll also tighten safeguards to ensure that ads show up only against legitimate creators in our YouTube Partner Program—as opposed to those who impersonate other channels or violate our community guidelines. Finally, we won't stop at taking down ads. The YouTube team is taking a hard look at our existing community guidelines to determine what content is allowed on the platform—not just what content can be monetized. [...] We're changing the default settings for ads so that they show on content that meets a higher level of brand safety and excludes potentially objectionable content that advertisers may prefer not to advertise against. Brands can opt in to advertise on broader types of content if they choose.
The growing boycott started in the UK:
On Friday, the U.K. arm of the Havas agency, whose clients include the BBC and Royal Mail, said it would halt spending on YouTube and Web display ads in Google's digital advertising network. In doing so, Havas UK CEO Paul Frampton cited a duty to protect clients and "ensure their brands are not at all compromised" by appearing alongside or seeming to sponsor inappropriate content. The decision by a global marketing group with a U.K. digital budget of more than $200 million to put its dealings with Google on "pause" followed a recent controversy over YouTube star Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg, who lost a lucrative production contract with Maker Studios and its owner, Walt Disney Co., over "a series of anti-Semitic jokes and Nazi-related images in his videos," as the Two-way reported. As the BBC reports, "Several high profile companies, including Marks and Spencer, Audi, RBS and L'Oreal, have pulled online advertising from YouTube."
Google's Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler also promised to develop "new tools powered by our latest advancements in AI and machine learning to increase our capacity to review questionable content for advertising".
YouTube is shaving off more of the smaller channels from its monetization program:
YouTube is tightening the rules around its partner program and raising the requirements that a channel/creator must meet in order to monetize videos. Effective immediately, to apply for monetization (and have ads attached to videos), creators must have tallied 4,000 hours of overall watch time on their channel within the past 12 months and have at least 1,000 subscribers. YouTube will enforce the new eligibility policy for all existing channels as of February 20th, meaning that channels that fail to meet the threshold will no longer be able to make income from ads.
Previously, the standard for joining YouTube's Partner Program was 10,000 public views — without any specific requirement for annual viewing hours. This change will no doubt make it harder for new, smaller channels to reach monetization, but YouTube says it's an important way of buying itself more time to see who's following the company's guidelines and disqualify "bad actors."
[...] The new, stricter policy comes after Logan Paul, one of YouTube's star creators and influencers, published a video that showed a dead body in Japan's Aokigahara forest. Last week, YouTube kicked Paul off its Google Preferred ad program and placed his YouTube Red original programming efforts on hold.
Anyone under 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 total hours watched annually would probably be making a pittance anyway. This change could allow YouTube to put more human eyes on the unruly but popular channels, so it can censor suicide forest vlogs (NSFW) in record time.
Machine learning algorithms are now involved in the bulk of video removal from YouTube. ~80% of videos removed by YouTube in Q4 2017 were initially flagged by a computer, with many receiving less than 10 views before removal:
The vast majority of videos removed from YouTube toward the end of last year for violating the site's content guidelines had first been detected by machines instead of humans, the Google-owned company said on Monday. YouTube said it took down 8.28 million videos during the fourth quarter of 2017, and about 80 percent of those videos had initially been flagged by artificially intelligent computer systems.
The new data highlighted the significant role machines — not just users, government agencies and other organizations — are taking in policing the service as it faces increased scrutiny over the spread of conspiracy videos, fake news and violent content from extremist organizations. Those videos are sometimes promoted by YouTube's recommendation system and unknowingly financed by advertisers, whose ads are placed next to them through an automated system.
[...] Betting on improvements in artificial intelligence is a common Silicon Valley approach to dealing with problematic content; Facebook has also said it is counting on A.I. tools to detect fake accounts and fake news on its platform. But critics have warned against depending too heavily on computers to replace human judgment.
Also at Recode.
Previously:
Google Fails to Stop Major Brands From Pulling Ads From YouTube
AI Beating Mechanical Turks at YouTube Censorship Accuracy
Related:
YouTube Cracks Down on Weird Content Aimed at Kids
A.I. Algorithm Recognizes Terrorist Propaganda With 99% Accuracy
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @01:55PM (17 children)
Since you have to be registered and go through some sort of identity confirmation, now they can know who you are what you watched, when you watched it, where you live, who you family and friends and associates, and co-workers and their family etc etc, all because you wanted to watch that ep of last week tonight
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @02:33PM (12 children)
Parents who would let their kids watch Youtube at all are just fucking retarded. Of course internet nihilists are going to find ways to get around that shit.
If my shithead kid wants to watch something, it will be something that I put in the DVD player or something on TV like Yo Gabba Gabba I know isn't going to be overtly sick.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:13PM (1 child)
on TV.. like the Ren & Stimpy Show [wikipedia.org]!
I liked it but it should have had a warning because it looked like a children's cartoon.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:24PM
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.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:15PM
That's my point it's a "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!" move, the policy and the automation will be broadly applied and soon enough when you want to watch things that are debatabley not child friendly like last week tonight, suddenly they are collecting and linking your viewing your, childrens viewing your friends, etc, etc, it sounds like a lot of this stuff would fall under there IP and other content restrictions so take it down. classifying it "adult" is just a way to monitor people more
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:30PM (5 children)
Your shithead kid sounds like a pussy.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @04:14PM (3 children)
He most certainly is, he's made from my seed but born from your wife's womb.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @08:13PM (2 children)
Ethanol has KIDS. Dayum!
Be afraid, very afraid...
J/K. Admitting kids pushes me over the fence now into KNOWING your account has always been a masterfully crafted troll.
God bless Eth!
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @08:35PM (1 child)
Uh...yeah..."troll," haha.
Grumble grumble real life grumble grumble...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @01:16AM
I don't doubt the kids part.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:28PM
And, your pussy sounds like a real shithead.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday November 11 2017, @04:27PM (2 children)
I agree. All you get from YouTube is retarded bullshit. Clue them in about PornHub once they're old enough to appreciate it.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:37PM (1 child)
Pornhub = retarded beaver juice?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday November 11 2017, @11:57PM
Who cares. It's more effective than "go play outside".
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @04:55PM (3 children)
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:37PM (2 children)
Age requirements are so stupid. I can't possibly remember what ages I've given various sites. I guess I could go back and look. Told Yahoo that I was 91 years old, when they sent me a thing to sign up - that was at least a decade ago. Told AOL that I was about 70 or 75, and that was before AOL. Other places, I used the minimum age possible - if 13 was good enough, I was 13. Maybe that was Geoshitty?
I've never been questioned by any site aside from G+ and Facefook. That, in and of itself, is enough reason to avoid both.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Saturday November 11 2017, @07:31PM (1 child)
Then you appear to have never visited the website of any major beer manufacturer in the United States. Last I checked, they all had a (sham) age verification interstitial.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 11 2017, @10:49PM
Key word, being "sham". The beer distributors don't care how old you are, and they aren't even going to pretend to verify your age. Only Facefook, and G+ have ever attempted to do so, in my experience.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:09PM (1 child)
10 American citizens, walking on the street.
One went berserk, and shot another dead.
The police came and shot the perp dead!
Then the mayor came, and the mayor said:
plenty more Americans, walking on the street.
8 American citizens, walking on the street
...
etc. etc.
Yes, you're doing enough to traumatize your kids.
(I didn't say it was a good troll song)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:28PM
Well, the black population of the United States is more like 13% than 20%, but otherwise point taken.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:12PM (1 child)
Hmm, good question. Hold my beer ...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday November 12 2017, @12:53AM
Let me guess... you just going to buy a Grimm brothers audio-book?
Not traumatizing enough; I grew with them, I know.
I mainly liked "Hansel and Gretel" for the potential; even though I regretted Gretel managed to trick the old decrepit witch (rather than the other way around, as planned), I managed to get over it with age.
(grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Saturday November 11 2017, @03:20PM
SuperHeroFun
Appears to be a guy in a spiderman outfit in GTA driving cars infront of trains
CrazyBabyFun
Some shitty 3d baby with colors and some numbers. Appears to be korean because all the stuff shown are part of a live action korean program where they play with them
That panda one
Pandas flushing stuff down the toilet and it clogs and explodes, shooting eachother with rpgs, pretending to be police and blocking the other pandas paths til they bribe him.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Saturday November 11 2017, @04:20PM (7 children)
Well, if they age-restrict Family Guy and Fox News then perhaps is not that bad.
(Score: 1, Troll) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday November 11 2017, @04:30PM (6 children)
They do for the most part. They age-restrict pretty much anything that goes against progressive ideals lately.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:02PM
Specific examples, please.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:28PM (3 children)
These weren't age-restricted then I checked just now.
"Family Guy - Peter's find a Jew app" uploaded by AudioFag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZBLfg006o [youtube.com]
Family guy - Jewish wife (S8-E2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ooCAXw5QGI [youtube.com]
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @06:07PM (2 children)
And just why should those be age-restricted?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @09:00PM (1 child)
Did you see the videos? They contain jokes about violence against Jews. If Youtube was restricting "pretty much anything that goes against progressive ideals" I would expect them to restrict those.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @09:16PM
Jewish people have Jewish privilege in Hollywood (and the entire Ivy League, but that's neither here nor there). They own the place! Why haven't they crushed Seth MacFarlane yet?!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:37PM
also not age-restricted:
"Should pregnancy centers be forced to promote abortion?" uploaded by Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYV5Qdh09gE [youtube.com]
"Fox News: Dana Perino & Megyn Kelly Slam Democrats on Abortion" uploaded by Susan B. Anthony List
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H4SDquYcAg [youtube.com]
You are bullshitting, as usual.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 11 2017, @05:25PM
fixed that . . .
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Saturday November 11 2017, @06:42PM (1 child)
I searched around youtube and hooktube and found quite a few bleach drinking tutorials. Drink bleach to pass a drug test, bleaching gummy bears, a few tutorials that were just, "pour bleach into cup, now drink!"
God bless the internet.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday November 11 2017, @08:03PM
Here's a legit tutorial. [youtube.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @08:04PM (2 children)
Most of the weird cartoons and live action videos were evidently made in Vietnam.
The signs are there. Ask me if you are interested.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday November 11 2017, @08:27PM
A lot of stuff is animated in South Korea and some in North Korea:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_animation [wikipedia.org]
http://www.rfa.org/english/korea/nkorea_cartoon-20061206.html [rfa.org]
If you can find a list of mainstream cartoons animated in North Korea, please link it.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday November 11 2017, @08:28PM
https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/01/27/267018900/for-taiwanese-news-animators-funny-videos-are-serious-work [npr.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]