YouTube's comments section has historically had a bad reputation, but changes introduced could prevent kids from getting into the comment pool. In an email to parents who manage their children's accounts, the company announced that it is introducing a “read-only” comment option to children's supervised experiences on YouTube.
YouTube says the feature will be rolled out in the “coming weeks.”
The change is one of the biggest tweaks to YouTube's parental control features since stronger protections for minors were introduced in 2021 following increased pressure from lawmakers.
Image credit: YouTube
This new addition applies to two of the three content settings available to parents who want to create a more kid-friendly YouTube experience for their kids: See more and Most of YouTube.
The former allows kids to explore videos with content ratings intended for viewers 13 and older. Most of YouTube, on the other hand, allows older children to access most of her YouTube content, except for videos that are specifically age-restricted for adults only.
By default, children can read comments in both of these content settings modes, but cannot write them. Live chat will also be turned off.
Meanwhile, parents who want to disable comments completely can switch their children to the “Explore” setting, which is intended for viewers ages 9 and up. (This option is typically the first step into the main Her YouTube experience after using the dedicated Her YouTube Kids app as a toddler.)
Parents can view and change their child's settings from YouTube Parent Settings or through YouTube Notes, Google's Family Link parental controls app.Also, your child's device[マイ アクティビティ]You can also view your child's history in settings.
The company says that the YouTube settings that parents choose for their children apply when the child is not using the YouTube site or app directly, such as when viewing YouTube content embedded on a third-party site. It adds that it will not be done.
Congress has been pressuring technology companies for years to do more to protect children from the negative effects of their services, but has stalled in codifying those demands into new laws. It's pulling. But recently, the Kids Online Safety Act has gained momentum, demanding stronger parental controls from platform makers. This bill has bipartisan support, similar to COPPA 2.0 (Children and Adolescents Online Protection Act), which focuses on strengthening data protection, privacy, and banning targeted advertising to children and teens. Masu.
YouTube is staying ahead of necessary changes to its parental controls platform by including new protections by default.
After launching parental controls in 2021, YouTube rolled out several product updates in November 2023 to make YouTube safer for teens. This includes limiting repeat viewing of some topics and revamping “Take a break” and “Bedtime” reminders. Among other things.
The email detailed the changes to parents, but the company has not yet published the read-only comments on its blog. Requests for comment were not returned.