By Katy Nguyen, Staff Writer
YouTube has announced that it is working on a new policy to disable comments on videos featuring children under the age of 13, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The important steps we’re sharing today are critical for keeping young people safe,” Team YouTube said in a blog post.
This aforementioned step was taken largely in response to the notorious “Momo” character. Appearing as a ghoulish human-bird hybrid, the entity pops up in videos that young children tend to watch. Concerned parents are demanding regulation to prevent child exploitation.
On Feb. 22, YouTube removed over tens of millions comments site wide, on videos with pedophilic content relating to minors or prominently featuring minors. Although comments are an essential part of the YouTube culture, the company believes in maintaining a safe environment for users and those featured in videos of all ages.
According to the Washington Post, many argue that YouTube’s search engine and recommendations can lead any viewer to videos featuring creators under the age of 13. Adult viewers have been known to harass and exploit these young creators mainly through comments.
This calls into question a lot of what is being regulated in the comments section and how much privacy YouTube users, both viewers and creators, have.
“No form of content that endangers minors is acceptable on YouTube, which is why we have terminated certain channels… we will continue to take action when creators violate our policies in ways that blatantly harm the broader user and creator community,” stated Team YouTube.
