YouTube is asking all creators to identify videos made for kids
The effort limits ad targeting and other data gathering.
YouTube is widening its child privacy efforts after an initial foray this fall. It's starting a worldwide rollout for creator tools that makes it easier to flag videos as made for kids. When a producer labels a video as child-oriented, it'll disable personalized ads, comments, live chat and other features. The company said it'll use machine learning to help identify videos for kids, but that creators should set the label themselves -- they "know their content best," YouTube added.
The move comes after YouTube agreed to make changes to answer FTC concerns about children's privacy. Regulators were concerned that YouTube might be violating COPPA by collecting data for kids under 13, including for ads. There were also concerns about predatory comments. YouTube still suggests that parents steer their kids toward its dedicated Kids app, but this theoretically prevents some of the more serious violations for those kids who use the company's regular apps and website.
