It has been a challenging month for YouTube.
As we recently reported[1], fresh concerns over child safety on the service came to light back on 17th February.
In a video published to the site[2], vlogger Matt Watson details how the service is being exploited by paedophiles who were using comment sections under innocuous videos of children to leave sexually provocative messages, to communicate with each other, and to link out to child pornography.
Of course, journalists and news sites were quick to level criticism at YouTube. Many pointed out that this wasn’t the first time child safety on the service has been called into question. Others were critical that its methods for safeguarding children were too ‘whack-a-mole’ in their approach[3].
And then came the actions of the advertisers – with Nestle, AT&T and Epic Games (creator of Fortnite) all pulling their ads from the service.
So how has YouTube responded? Is it doing enough?
Memo directly sent to advertisers
On 20th February YouTube sent out a memo to brands advertising on the service.
It detailed the ‘immediate actions’ it was taking to ensure children are safe in light of the recent allegations from Watson. These included suspending comments and reporting accounts to the NCMEC.
The memo reiterated that child safety is YouTube’s No. 1 priority, but also admitted there was more work to be done.
It laid out a roadmap of tweaks and improvements, including better improving the service’s ability to find predatory comments (set to be implemented this month) and potentially changing how ads are placed on channels.
