Bad Reputation: YouTube Changes Up Comments for Kids
“The company announced the introduction of a ‘read-only’ comments option.”
YouTube’s comments have long been known for their negative environment, particularly for children. However, YouTube is taking steps to prevent kids from being exposed to harmful content.
In an email to parents, YouTube announced the upcoming addition of a “read-only” comments option for their child’s supervised YouTube experience.
The feature is set to roll out in the “coming weeks.” According to YouTube, this is one of the biggest changes to their parental control features since the increased protections for minors introduced in 2021 due to pressure from lawmakers.
The new option applies to two of the three content settings available for parents who want to create a more kid-friendly YouTube experience: “Explore More” and “Most of YouTube.”
- “Explore More”: Allows kids to view videos with content ratings for 13+ viewers.
- “Most of YouTube”: Provides access to most of YouTube’s content for older children, with the exception of videos specifically designated for adults only.
By default, children will be able to read comments but not write them. Live chat will also be disabled.
Parents can disable comments entirely by switching their child to the “Explore” setting, which is intended for 9+ viewers. This setting is typically the first step before transitioning to the main YouTube experience, after using the YouTube Kids app as a younger child.
YouTube notes that parents can view and modify their child’s settings through the parent settings on the platform or the Google Family Link parental controls app. They can also see their child’s viewing history on their device through the My Activity setting.
It’s also worth mentioning that the settings selected for a child’s YouTube account do not apply when they are not using the YouTube site or app directly, such as when viewing embedded YouTube videos on third-party websites.
While Congress has been pushing tech companies to do more to protect children for years, there hasn’t been much progress in creating new laws. However, the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0, both with bipartisan support, are demanding stronger parental controls, data protections, privacy measures, and the prohibition of targeted advertising to kids and teens.
YouTube is taking proactive measures by implementing these new protections by default, before any potential changes are required by law.
After introducing parental controls in 2018, YouTube made a few updates in November 2023 to enhance teen safety. This included limitations on repeated viewing of certain topics and redesigned “take a break” and “bedtime” reminders, among other changes.
While the email informed parents about these changes, there has been no public announcement on the official YouTube blog. Requests for comments have not yet received a response.
