Parents need to be aware that YouTube is not intended for children who are under the age of 13. YouTube has been making efforts to protect minors and families, and recommends that kids who are 12 and under use YouTube Kids instead of the main YouTube.
According to YouTube, it never was intended to be used by children who are under the age of 13. That is why they created YouTube Kids in 2015. It is a safe place for kids to be able to explore their interests and for parents to have more control over what their kids can watch.
YouTube has been removing the YouTube accounts that belong to people who are under 13. The company says it terminates thousands of accounts per week as part of their process to keep kids and families safe. In addition, in the first quarter of 2019, YouTube removed 800,000 videos that violated their child safety policies.
Here are some more things YouTube has done to protect minors:
Restricting live features: Minors are no longer allowed to do live streaming unless they are accompanies by an adult. Channels not in compliance with this policy may lose their ability to live stream.
Disabling comments on videos featuring minors: YouTube disabled comments on tens of millions of videos featuring minors across the platform, to limit the risk of exploitation. YouTube strongly believes this is an important step to keeping young people safe on YouTube.
Reducing recommendations: YouTube has expanded their efforts from earlier this year around limiting recommendations of borderline content to include featuring minors in risky situations.
YouTube is reducing recommendations to things like: phony miracle cures for a serious illness, claiming the earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11. The purpose is to prevent online or offline exploitation of minors.
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Things to Know About Preschoolers and YouTube Videos
Things to Consider About Toddlers and Tablets
YouTube Introduces YouTube Kids App Profiles