How YouTube Puts Children at Risk
The report New York Times said that the algorithm YouTube has created what the journalist Max Fisher describes as “a vast audience – perhaps unprecedented – for the sexual exploitation of children.” He did this by offering home movies of half-naked children to viewers who watched other home movies of half-naked children, creating an entire catalog of videos that experts believe sexualize children. A Brazilian mother told the Times how her 10-year-old daughter uploaded a video of herself and her friend playing in the backyard pool and it quickly gained 400,000 views.
On Twitter, Fischer summarized the findings from a group of researchers who viewed this directory of family videos:
Every video can seem innocent on its own, whether it’s a home movie about a baby in a double bikini or a nightie. But each has three things in common:
• the girl is mostly naked or briefly naked • she is not older than 8 years old • her video is actively promoted by the YouTube algorithm
YouTube is committed to protecting minors. The company posted a message in the blog with a detailed description of its last update list: minors prohibited broadcast live, when they clearly are unaccompanied, disabled comments on videos involving minors and expanded the definition of “boundary-content” to include the “video”. showing minors in risky situations ”(YouTube limits the recommendation of this content). However, artificial intelligence is constantly finding new ways to keep users’ attention. And the only thing YouTube won’t do, which Fischer writes , will solve the problem , is to turn off recommendations on videos with children. When he asked YouTube why they wouldn’t take this step, they answered that way .
“Initially, YouTube gave me a comment saying they were moving in that direction,” Fischer tweeted. “The experts were delighted, calling this a potentially very positive step. Then YouTube “clarified” their comment. According to them, creators rely on recommendations to drive traffic, which is why they will stay.
This is not the first example of how YouTube’s algorithm can cause real damage on a massive scale (see Fischer and Katrin Bennhold’s earlier Times report on how it guides German news seekers to far-right extremist videos). Also, this is not the first time we are faced with the problem of YouTube and children in general. The point is, whatever step you take to keep your kids safe on the platform is not going to be trouble-free, and you must create rules that make sense for your family. But it might be what makes you ban your kids – and videos of them – from YouTube altogether. Fischer writes that watching the video made him “physically ill” and caused nightmares. He adds: “I cannot understand what it is for parents whose children are looking for.”