35 votes

YouTube bans comments on videos of children

25 comments

  1. [6]
    DonQuixote
    Link
    As a parent, I'm not torn at all. On the other hand, as a parent I wouldn't post anything about my children on social media or youtube at all. What happens or could happen is that any...

    As a parent, I'm not torn at all. On the other hand, as a parent I wouldn't post anything about my children on social media or youtube at all. What happens or could happen is that any representation of my child could be interpreted and used in any way, resulting in bullying or other abuse from friends, acquaintances, strangers. No. I don't want a child to run the risk of becoming an unwilling meme.

    But some parents aren't that bright, unfortunately. They're excited about the prospect of their minor child going viral and getting a lucrative contract or monetized following.

    23 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Sort of offtopic, but still related: On the last WAN show podcast, Linus Sebastian (of Linus Tech Tips) talked about how all these YouTube channels that have minors featured prominently in them,...

      They're excited about the prospect of their minor child going viral and getting a lucrative contract or monetized following.

      Sort of offtopic, but still related:
      On the last WAN show podcast, Linus Sebastian (of Linus Tech Tips) talked about how all these YouTube channels that have minors featured prominently in them, e.g. family vloggers, or even as the sole "star" on them may actually be running afoul of child labour and earnings protection laws... which is precisely why whenever he has his own children in a video on his channel he pays them a full wage and makes sure to follow all the employment laws related to that in his province.

      It was something I had honestly never really considered before, but makes me wonder how many irresponsible YouTuber parents there are who are essentially pulling a Lillian Coogan, and when the first inevitable lawsuit of a former youtube child star suing their parents for stolen earnings will happen. :/

      21 votes
    2. [4]
      hamstergeddon
      Link Parent
      Consider also that some parents simply like sharing videos (or photos in the case of other social media platforms) of their children without realizing how dangerous that could potentially be. I...

      Consider also that some parents simply like sharing videos (or photos in the case of other social media platforms) of their children without realizing how dangerous that could potentially be. I can't remember where on reddit I saw it, but someone suggested that in 10-15 years there's going to be a huge backlash against social media as the children who grew entirely in the social media era become adults and realize how much of their childhood has been posted online against their will. I certainly hope that's the case because this trend of oversharing on the internet is suuuch a bad idea.

      6 votes
      1. [2]
        Deimos
        Link Parent
        There was an article last week on The Atlantic about this that was interesting: When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online

        There was an article last week on The Atlantic about this that was interesting: When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online

        7 votes
        1. Parliament
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          My kid is over a year old and has never graced social media (with one exception) to the great dismay of my mother, although I do have a FB primarily for keeping up with friends abroad and my...

          My kid is over a year old and has never graced social media (with one exception) to the great dismay of my mother, although I do have a FB primarily for keeping up with friends abroad and my neighborhood happenings. Otherwise, I post to it maybe once per year. My mother shared a photo of him when he was a few months old after we had repeatedly told her we didn't want that, and we forced her to take it down. Then she made us feel like the bad guys for protecting our child's privacy. The whole situation only reaffirmed my belief that we were doing the right thing.

          4 votes
      2. Octofox
        Link Parent
        Makes me glad to have parents that are super anti tracking / anti social media. My mum only recently accepted using a laptop without a physical wifi switch. (She still turns it off in the OS when...

        Makes me glad to have parents that are super anti tracking / anti social media. My mum only recently accepted using a laptop without a physical wifi switch. (She still turns it off in the OS when not in use)

        Also what got me in to using linux and programming \o/

        Pretty much the only thing you can find about me online is my open source work and resume. Everything else is under random names.

        6 votes
  2. Nodja
    Link
    I was wondering why fully ban the comments and not use their AI classifiers to point out creepy comments, turns out they were already working on it. From their blog

    I was wondering why fully ban the comments and not use their AI classifiers to point out creepy comments, turns out they were already working on it.

    From their blog

    While we have been removing hundreds of millions of comments for violating our policies, we had been working on an even more effective classifier, that will identify and remove predatory comments. This classifier does not affect the monetization of your video. We accelerated its launch and now have a new comments classifier in place that is more sweeping in scope, and will detect and remove 2X more individual comments.

    10 votes
  3. [14]
    welly
    Link
    I'm a little bit torn over this. It seems a little bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut but not really sure what else they can do. It's clearly a problem.

    I'm a little bit torn over this. It seems a little bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut but not really sure what else they can do. It's clearly a problem.

    6 votes
    1. [7]
      MimicSquid
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      As far as very broad-stroke choices go, it's one with a little lower cost than the broad demonitization that was the previous reaction. While I do like to talk about things online, I don't think...

      As far as very broad-stroke choices go, it's one with a little lower cost than the broad demonitization that was the previous reaction. While I do like to talk about things online, I don't think that most videos really need or encourage useful or relevant commentary.

      Edit: Removing double-negative.

      10 votes
      1. [3]
        Ephemere
        Link Parent
        Yeah, that's my thought, I don't really see much upside to anonymous strangers commenting on a video of a child. Honestly, if there were no comments at all on youtube it would probably be a better...

        Yeah, that's my thought, I don't really see much upside to anonymous strangers commenting on a video of a child. Honestly, if there were no comments at all on youtube it would probably be a better service.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          elcuello
          Link Parent
          There several extensions to browsers out there that remove all comments on youtube. I use them and it's wonderful. I really think we need to get away from the thought that we need to be able to...

          There several extensions to browsers out there that remove all comments on youtube. I use them and it's wonderful.

          I really think we need to get away from the thought that we need to be able to comment and way in our opinion on everything in the world. No we don't. It's dumming us down.

          4 votes
          1. welly
            Link Parent
            I'm going to get that extension installed. I think it'll do wonders for my mental state.

            I'm going to get that extension installed. I think it'll do wonders for my mental state.

            1 vote
      2. [3]
        masochist
        Link Parent
        Can you clarify what you mean by the double negative in your second sentence?

        Can you clarify what you mean by the double negative in your second sentence?

        1 vote
        1. MimicSquid
          Link Parent
          Whoops. Yeah, unintentional. I rearranged the sentence for better effect and didn't prune appropriately.

          Whoops. Yeah, unintentional. I rearranged the sentence for better effect and didn't prune appropriately.

          3 votes
        2. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. masochist
            Link Parent
            I'm sure it was unintentional, but I want to be sure I understand their sentiment.

            I'm sure it was unintentional, but I want to be sure I understand their sentiment.

            1 vote
    2. [6]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [5]
        AlastrionaCatskill
        Link Parent
        This is probably the best decision by far. When I have children (assuming uterus transplants ever become a thing), I wouldn't even want them on the Internet as it is till at least the end of...

        This is probably the best decision by far. When I have children (assuming uterus transplants ever become a thing), I wouldn't even want them on the Internet as it is till at least the end of elementary school.

        4 votes
        1. [4]
          Octofox
          Link Parent
          Terrible idea. School pretty much requires internet use at home for homework. Also you are keeping your kids sheltered so when they do get on the internet they won't know how to handle it. A...

          Terrible idea. School pretty much requires internet use at home for homework. Also you are keeping your kids sheltered so when they do get on the internet they won't know how to handle it.

          A better idea is to allow internet use but monitor everything they do and educate them on proper use until they are old enough to use it on their own.

          7 votes
          1. [3]
            AlastrionaCatskill
            Link Parent
            Well of course i'd allow educational sites and Wikipedia. I guess, more specifically, it would be a social media and over-IP gaming ban. Considering I attempted killing myself because of social...

            Well of course i'd allow educational sites and Wikipedia. I guess, more specifically, it would be a social media and over-IP gaming ban. Considering I attempted killing myself because of social media - and I was raised on the Internet, i'd rather have sheltered kids than suicidal kids.

            EDIT: At the least, I would like the "You must be over age X to view this page" be backed up by a photo ID reviewed by human admins, like how the UK attempted to do that for pornography sites.

            4 votes
            1. [2]
              Octofox
              Link Parent
              Hope your kids enjoy having no friends then. Until they are old enough that they start using it on their own and haven't been educated on how to properly interact with others online. The stuff...

              and over-IP gaming ban

              Hope your kids enjoy having no friends then.

              i'd rather have sheltered kids than suicidal kids.

              Until they are old enough that they start using it on their own and haven't been educated on how to properly interact with others online.

              EDIT: At the least, I would like the "You must be over age X to view this page" be backed up by a photo ID reviewed by human admins, like how the UK attempted to do that for pornography sites.

              The stuff behind these warnings is usually the least of your issues. Also this just means next time there is a database leak you will be able to look up the personal info of everyone who use a porn website.

              2 votes
              1. AlastrionaCatskill
                Link Parent
                A. I suppose nobody had any friends prior to videogames B. You think I wouldn't teach them once I do introduce it? I had plenty of supports for my autism in high school, then none in adult life,...

                A. I suppose nobody had any friends prior to videogames

                B. You think I wouldn't teach them once I do introduce it? I had plenty of supports for my autism in high school, then none in adult life, and I became homeless within a year

                C. Fair point there, but I'd rather a database leak than my kids be allowed to see things that will traumatize them.

                D. I'm 20, i'm very much aware of how online works. AND I ALMOST DIED FROM IT. You will not be able to change my mind, because I almost ended my life because of this godforsaken piece of technology, and I will be damned if my kids suffer the same fate I did.

                E. If I'm wrong and kids can only socialize via internet these days, then I guess I won't bring any children into a world like that.

                1 vote
    3. [2]
      Comment removed by site admin
      Link Parent
      1. AlastrionaCatskill
        Link Parent
        Can agree. My first suicide attempt was heavily influence by online discussions.

        Can agree. My first suicide attempt was heavily influence by online discussions.

        3 votes
  4. moocow1452
    Link
    Link to the original blog: https://youtube-creators.googleblog.com/2019/02/more-updates-on-our-actions-related-to.html Outside of the "This isn't going to go over well with the regulars," I don't...

    Link to the original blog: https://youtube-creators.googleblog.com/2019/02/more-updates-on-our-actions-related-to.html

    Outside of the "This isn't going to go over well with the regulars," I don't have a whole lot to add to this. Youtube kinda let this situation get to this point, and I guess decommentizing is going to become a trend.

    5 votes
  5. mrbig
    Link
    I think they should ban all videos of young children unless they have express parental consent. You may think I'm too radical, but if I said that 20 years ago and replaced "internet" with...

    I think they should ban all videos of young children unless they have express parental consent. You may think I'm too radical, but if I said that 20 years ago and replaced "internet" with "television" you would probably agree with me.

    It's nuts that we suddenly think our children are automatically able to deal with the perils of exposition. They're absolutely unequipped for that!

    I'm only talking about videos of who's currently a child. In my opinion, old videos featuring children that are now adults should be freely published.

    5 votes
  6. [2]
    Rocket_Man
    Link
    This seems like a good idea and a good compromise between all the options available to them. However how do they determine the age of the people in the videos? Hypothetically a very petite women...

    This seems like a good idea and a good compromise between all the options available to them. However how do they determine the age of the people in the videos? Hypothetically a very petite women making yoga videos might erroneously attract pedophiles and get their comments locked. But I don't think there's a good solution to this in the short-term.

    I think it'd be more reasonable to target this policy towards people who appear as pre-teens. As well as allowing regular users more control over their videos and comment sections. Perhaps by being able auto-moderate them based on semantic qualities. If a comment is deemed too sexual it could be automatically hidden. I don't know what exactly the tools would look like. But they should empower the uploader automatically and manually moderate the comment section.

    3 votes
    1. knocklessmonster
      Link Parent
      When you sign up, you set your age. You could lie (I lied about my age to see Saddam Hussein's hanging on YouTube), but they could provide a way to verify if it is suspect. They mentioned, on the...

      When you sign up, you set your age. You could lie (I lied about my age to see Saddam Hussein's hanging on YouTube), but they could provide a way to verify if it is suspect.

      They mentioned, on the blog post, removing predatory comments on videos that seemed to be good targets for it, so there may be some qualification for the video to be flagged.

      1 vote