SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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
(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?
ICE is having a Pretti Good season.
(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.
ICE is having a Pretti Good season.
(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.
ICE is having a Pretti Good season.