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Parents Can Now Limit YouTube Kids To Human-Reviewed Channels and Recommendations (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the parental-guidance dept.

Google is announcing an expanded series of parental controls for its YouTube Kids application. "The new features will allow parents to lock down the YouTube Kids app so it only displays those channels that have been reviewed by humans, not just algorithms," reports TechCrunch. "And this includes both the content displayed within the app itself, as well as the recommended videos. A later update will allow parents to configure which videos and channels, specifically, can be viewed." From the report: The controls will be opt-in -- meaning parents will have to explicitly turn on the various settings within each child's profile in YouTube Kids' settings. [...] First, videos are uploaded to YouTube's main site. They're then filtered using machine learning techniques through a series of algorithms that determine if they should be added to YouTube Kids' catalog. But algorithms are not people, and they make mistakes. To fill in the gaps in this imperfect system, YouTube Kids relied on parents to flag suspect videos for review. YouTube employs a dedicated team of reviewers for YouTube Kids, but it doesn't say how many people are tasked with this job. This system, parents have felt for some time, just wasn't good enough. Now, parents will be able to toggle on a new setting for "Approved content only," which also disables search. A later version of YouTube Kids will go even further -- allowing parents to select individual videos or channels they approve of, for a truly handpicked selection. The new features in YouTube Kids will roll out over the course of the year, the company says, with everything but the explicit whitelisting option arriving this week.

2 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. She doesn't have a browser, and wouldn't know by raymorris · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My kid doesn't HAVE a browser. She has several games and puzzles, a piano app for playing music, PBS Kids, YouTube kids, and a couple other apps.

    Before she was born, I thought I'd never let her watch anything unless I was watching with her. After she was born, I discovered that parents have to poop sometimes. And cook. And wash the dishes. And shower. I actually can't be staring at her and her play things 24/7, so PBS Kids, YouTube Kids, etc are very helpful - I can poop, knowing that Daniel Tiger isn't going to do anything crazy.

  2. Re:What kind of human? Who watches the watchmen? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1) They're wageslaves with an audit log
    2) It's an opt-in

    >For them to gain the right to verify videos
    They have the right to do fuck all with their website and your entitled bitch ass tantrum is irrelevant.

    You obviously didn't consider youtubekids adequate to begin with, carry on with your personal vetting approach that isn't being imposed on.

    I'm all for having a conversation about arbiters who can exploit selective enforcement and discriminate executive power. There aren't any here.