ON FRIDAY, A pediatrician and parenting blogger named Free N. Hess published a post about a series of disturbing videos she found on YouTube Kids, a stand-alone app that is supposed to make it “safer and simpler” for those under 13 to browse videos online. A number of news outlets quickly picked up on the clips Hess discovered, which included one where Minecraft–inspired characters carry out a school shooting. In another, an animated girl with long brown hair attempts to commit suicide after her dad dies and her boyfriend breaks up with her.
These cartoons weren’t created for YouTube Kids—they were uploaded to the main YouTube platform and later slipped past filters designed to keep inappropriate content away from minors. Some of the videos have racked up hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of views. “We work to ensure the videos in YouTube Kids are family-friendly and take feedback very seriously,” YouTube said in a statement. “We appreciate people drawing problematic content to our attention, and make it possible for anyone to flag a video.”
Source: How to Make YouTube Kids Safer for Your Kids | WIRED