YouTube to launch ‘supervised’ parental controls for teens

YouTube is trying to bridge the gap between its app for kids and classic YouTube for parents with tweens and teens.

Youtube ad On Wednesday, it will launch a new “supervised” beta experience that will introduce additional features and settings to regulate the types of content older children can access on the platform. The content will be limited based on the selection of one of the three categories. “Explorer” will feature videos suitable for ages 9 and up, “Explore Plus” will categorize them with videos for kids 13 and over, and “Most YouTube” will show them almost everything except topics. restricted age and subjects that might be sensitive to non-adults.

YouTube says it will use a mix of machine learning, human review and user input for veterinary content – a system that has worked spectacularly for YouTube in the past. Apparently trying to get ahead of the problems that will arise from his broken moderation system, the announcement blog said YouTube knew that “our systems will make mistakes and will continue to evolve over time.”

Obviously, any tool that attempts to filter inappropriate content on YouTube is welcome and necessary. But guardians can’t just rely on YouTube to get behind the wheel and guide their children’s experience. We saw how well it worked in the past on YouTube’s kids app, which isn’t great.

Part of the problem is that the YouTube platform, like those of other social media giants, is just too big to be adequately moderated. A wrong turn can send your child plot rabbit hole whether they are looking for them or not. Plus, if we’re honest, teens and tweens are likely to find a way to watch whatever content they want to watch, no matter how well the home computer is protected.

That said, creating a middle ground between YouTube Kids and the normal YouTube chaos is something. Don’t rely on a perfect moderation system. Even YouTube says it.