YouTube algorithms have come under fire following reports that inappropriate content and comments targeting young children have appeared on the site.
First reported by users on Reddit, the issue has raised a number of concerns, particularly as much of the content featuring the predatory comments was monetised by the platform.
YouTube was hit by a similar scandal in late 2017, which also involved monetised channels, however, following advertiser pressure, changes were made to restrict comments and raise monetisation thresholds and controls.
This issue underscores the need for industry content regulation with independent oversight, which ISBA has been calling for over the last year.
As signatories to the WFA's Media Charter, ISBA stands by the principle of strict brand safety protection and we continue to call for comprehensive and rigorous safeguards and limits on monetisation, together with visibility of controls and their limitations. We have joined calls from major advertisers for the segregation and separate classification of content primarily featuring children.
YouTube has issued an update highlighting their expanding efforts to ensure child safety on the platform, including suspending comments on tens of millions of videos, reducing the discovery of and restricting ads from similar video content.
ISBA will continue to monitor the situation closely.