No More Kids Content on YouTube? Video Platform Might Move Entire Children's Content To YouTube Kids
YouTube is reportedly planning to remove entire children's content from YouTube and move it to YouTube Kids App after facing fire for the controversies caused by its recommendation algorithm.In 2018, YouTube Kids got more parental control that allowed the parents to manually select the channels and creators on the platform.
After coming under fire for content-related controversies involving the younger audience, YouTube is reportedly considering to make some changes on the platform. YouTube has faced a string of controversies this year and so, the company is planning to remove all children's content from YouTube and shift it to YouTube Kids app, according to the New Wall Street Journal report. It is also reported that the company is also considering another option, which involves completely turning off auto-play recommended videos on children's content. This auto-playing video system on YouTube can sometimes lead viewers to age-inappropriate content from a harmless video. YouTube Music Will Automatically Download 500 Songs Based on Users' Listening History: Report.
It's a significant development for YouTube since it has been relying on down-ranking to reduce the reach of controversial videos to younger viewers. This would somewhat serve the purpose, but turning off the recommendation algorithm for children will not be a complete solution to the problem.
Moreover, the step to move out a heavy chunk of videos off the platform could affect the revenue. It is important to note that YouTube Kids too have ads, but it involves additional requirements to be fulfilled by the advertisers.
As per the report from The Journal, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been actively involved in the management of YouTube, which is handled by Susan Wojcicki. The recent scandals like Christchurch shooting video and pedophilia rings that were enabled by YouTube's recommendation algorithm have reportedly resulted internal disturbance.
In the year 2018, the company added controls to YouTube Kids which included parental control allowing the parents to manually select the channels and creators on the platform that would be harmless to watch. The company also added more human moderators for removing harmful content on the platform. It is important to note that not all children stream videos on Kids app alone, and the same algorithm wormhole could expose them to such harmful content.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 01, 2019 06:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).