The Next Big Growth Industry on YouTube is Standards and Practices
A month on from a massive algorithm change affecting kids creators, all parties recognize the need for more formalized rules
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It has been a torrid month for many YouTubers producing content aimed at children. An algorithm change on July 3rd, which Bloomberg first reported on last week but many creators had been complaining about for weeks, decimated viewership on some channels — by up to 98%.
The creators are unsure why their channels — which are often perfectly serviceable, child-friendly content — have fallen foul of another unexpected algorithm change in less than six months. (Back in March, YouTube announced it’d ban comments from all channels starring children, effectively strangling kid-centric channels from building a community around their videos.)
But the answer is a simple one: the fear of regulation. YouTube reportedly settled with the US Federal Trade Commission over violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), and has seemingly become much more circumspect about the types of content it’s promoting to children.
“Kids say: ‘I want the full-fat version [of YouTube], where there’s more content but less protections in place’”
“The picture we get told from young people themselves is that YouTube is problematic in terms of inappropriate content,” explains Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at UK children’s charity the NSPCC. “The particular concern that arises there is around algorithmic suggestions: the ease with which the algorithm can then throw up potentially harmful results.”
It’s a problem that hasn’t gone unnoticed by legislators worldwide, either. As we’ve previously reported, regulation is inevitable, and — although one in four videos promoted by YouTube to users in the UK currently contain the work “fuck”, according to an ongoing analysis of videos by software developer Matt Reynolds — the platform is tightening the rules over what it calls quality content.
YouTube Kids, Google’s attempt at creating a walled garden, has largely failed, with only a tiny…
