On YouTube Kids, Startling Videos Slip Past Filters
On YouTube Kids, Startling Videos Slip Past Filters
The account’s description says, “Video created with the purpose of learning and development of children!”
Questions sent there were mostly ignored, though the account did reply: “That’s a Cute character and video is a funny story, take it easy, that’s it.”
The Super Ares TV account seems to be linked to a number of other channels targeting children with cartoon imitations, based on their similar channel fonts, animation style
and Greek mythology-inspired names, from Super Hermes TV and Super Apollo TV to Super Hera TV.
Malik Ducard, YouTube’s global head of family and learning content, said
that the inappropriate videos were “the extreme needle in the haystack,” but that “making the app family friendly is of the utmost importance to us.”
While the offending videos are a tiny fraction of YouTube Kids’ universe, they are another example of the potential for abuse on digital media platforms
that rely on computer algorithms, rather than humans, to police the content that appears in front of people — in this case, very young people.
Suddenly he cried out, “Mommy, the monster scares me!”
When Ms. Burns walked over, Isaac was watching a video featuring crude renderings of the characters from “PAW Patrol,” a Nickelodeon show
that is popular among preschoolers, screaming in a car.
“We strive,” he added, “to make that fraction even lower.”
Holly Hart of Gray, Tenn., said she was recently reading while her 3-year-old daughter was in the room when she noticed
that Disney Junior characters in the video her daughter was watching started “turning into monsters and trying to feed each other to alligators.” An image previewing a recommended video showed the characters in a provocative pose.
The account’s description says, “Video created with the purpose of learning and development of children!”
Questions sent there were mostly ignored, though the account did reply: “That’s a Cute character and video is a funny story, take it easy, that’s it.”
The Super Ares TV account seems to be linked to a number of other channels targeting children with cartoon imitations, based on their similar channel fonts, animation style
and Greek mythology-inspired names, from Super Hermes TV and Super Apollo TV to Super Hera TV.
Malik Ducard, YouTube’s global head of family and learning content, said
that the inappropriate videos were “the extreme needle in the haystack,” but that “making the app family friendly is of the utmost importance to us.”
While the offending videos are a tiny fraction of YouTube Kids’ universe, they are another example of the potential for abuse on digital media platforms
that rely on computer algorithms, rather than humans, to police the content that appears in front of people — in this case, very young people.
Suddenly he cried out, “Mommy, the monster scares me!”
When Ms. Burns walked over, Isaac was watching a video featuring crude renderings of the characters from “PAW Patrol,” a Nickelodeon show
that is popular among preschoolers, screaming in a car.
“We strive,” he added, “to make that fraction even lower.”
Holly Hart of Gray, Tenn., said she was recently reading while her 3-year-old daughter was in the room when she noticed
that Disney Junior characters in the video her daughter was watching started “turning into monsters and trying to feed each other to alligators.” An image previewing a recommended video showed the characters in a provocative pose.
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