Child safety on YouTube: parent factsheet
What is the problem?
You may have seen news reports about inappropriate children’s videos on YouTube.
These are videos that, at first, appear to be for children, as they include cartoon characters such as Peppa Pig, or characters from Disney films such as Frozen. However, later on the videos become violent or disturbing. One, for example, shows Peppa Pig being tortured at the dentist.
The videos can appear in YouTube search results when children look for genuine children’s videos.
YouTube says that such videos will be age-restricted if they are reported by users, so they cannot be viewed by anyone under 18.
This factsheet explains how you can protect your child when they are using YouTube apps or the website.
What safety options are there on YouTube Kids?
The YouTube Kids app automatically filters out inappropriate content. However, YouTube explains that “no algorithm is perfect” and “your child might find content you don't want him or her to watch”.
To help protect your child in YouTube Kids, you can set parental controls and change settings: tap the ‘Lock’ icon in the bottom corner of any page, enter your custom passcode and click ‘Settings’. Here you can:
You can also block videos or channels you don't want your child to watch:
To report content to YouTube that you think is inappropriate, use the ‘flagging function’: tap the flag icon next to a video or comment and select your reason for flagging.
The app does have advertising, but YouTube says it restricts adverts that aren’t child-friendly.
What safety options are there on YouTube?
Turn on ‘restricted mode’
This hides videos that may contain inappropriate content. YouTube says that “no filter is 100% accurate, but it should help you avoid most inappropriate content”. To do this:
Flag inappropriate videos
If you think a video or a comment on a video is inappropriate, you can use the ‘flagging feature’ to prompt YouTube staff to check it and decide whether to block or restrict it:
Flagged content is constantly reviewed to check for any violation of YouTube’s Community Guidelines.
How else can I help ensure my child’s safety online?
The tips below will help you to set rules for your child about accessing videos on the internet and their online behaviour, and support them to understand the risks and what to do if something happens.
Where else can I go for support?
Policies, safety and reporting, YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtube/topic/2676378?hl=en&ref_topic=6151248
Privacy complaint process, YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/142443
YouTube Kids parental guide, YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtubekids/#topic=6130504
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has a range of resources for parents on internet safety: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
Sources for this factsheet
This factsheet was produced by Safeguarding Training Centre from The Key, in collaboration with National Online Safety: www.thekeysupport.com/safeguarding and https://nationalonlinesafety.com/
YouTube to restrict 'disturbing' children's videos, if flagged, BBC News, 10 November 2017
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41942306
YouTube Kids parental guide, YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtubekids/#topic=6130504