An early version of the offering will be released in coming
months, letting parents use Google accounts to provide children YouTube access
that comes with content and feature constraints, according to kids and family
product management director James Beser.
The move responds to concerns about violence and other
inappropriate content which may be viewed by minors on the massive
video-sharing platform.
"We’ve heard from parents and older children that tweens
and teens have different needs, which weren’t being fully met by our
products," Beser said in a blog post.
"We are announcing a new choice for parents who have
decided their tweens and teens are ready to explore YouTube with a supervised
account."
An "explore" option for parental control settings
will feature videos considered suitable for children ages 9 and older, such as
tutorials, gaming videos, music clips, news and educational content.
A second setting will allow children to access videos deemed
appropriate for people ages 13 and older, and include live streams.
A "most of YouTube" setting will open viewing to a
gamut of content on the global video sharing platform except for content that
is age-restricted or involving sensitive topics only appropriate for older
audiences.
"We know that every parent has a different parenting
style and that every child is unique and reaches different developmental stages
at different times," Beser said.
The options are designed for parents who are ready to give their
children a bit more freedom on YouTube, but with limits, according to Beser.
"We will use a mix of user input, machine learning and
human review to determine which videos are included," Beser said.
"We know that our systems will make mistakes and will
continue to evolve over time."
Google-owned YouTube started out as a video-sharing platform
for people at least 13 years of age but added a YouTube Kids option in 2015
with parental controls on content.
The platform has worked to address concerns and complaints
about content accessible to children as well as the types of ads paired with
what they view.
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