YouTube Strengthens Child Protections, But You Can Still Get Around Age Filters

The filtering of YouTube videos has been a hassle for long. While YouTube keeps on strengthening its policies to protect children, there are always some videos that get around these protections, like the ones recently highlighted by Buzzfeed.

The presence of such a large number of inappropriate videos on YouTube targetting children is being called Elsagate. These videos have children or are aimed at them and contain inappropriate content such as violence, profanity, nudity and other such issues. However, such videos have repeatedly made it past the company’s age gate protections for children. Buzzfeed highlighted several videos showing children being covered in blood. One video even has an adult holding a belt, presumably to hit a child. Ever since the story surfaced, some of these videos have been taken down and YouTube on Wednesday announced new protections.

These include:

• Tougher application of community guidelines and faster enforcement using technology: The company is partnering with law enforcement authorities for tougher application of community guidelines. The company claims it has already terminated around 50 YouTube channels and removed thousands of videos using improved restrictions. It is also using machine learning to escalate such videos for human review.
• Removing inappropriate ads: YouTube is enforcing new advertiser guidelines. Any advertisement having violent, offensive or inappropriate content will be removed from videos aimed or targeted at providing family entertainment. YouTube states this will be done even if the ads do not display content aimed at spreading such information but use it for a satirical or comedic purposes.
• Blocking inappropriate comments on videos featuring minors: A combination of machine learning and human reporting will be used to block inappropriate, sexual or predatory comments on videos featuring minors. YouTube does not hold back comments for review — what you comment is posted immediately, so it remains to be seen how the video sharing site achieves this.
• Providing guidance for creators: The company will provide instructions to creators on how to make their content family friendly.
• Employing experts: YouTube will be partnering with experts as well as trusted flaggers to report videos.

The company claimed it has scaled up the resources and will work around the clock to monitor such content.

However, workarounds are still available. You can surpass the age gate on videos that are barred by YouTube and simply navigate to a restricted video. Once you have the video in front of you, you will be asked to “sign in to conform your age.”

Instead of doing that, you can circumvent the whole protection mechanism. All you need to do is navigate to the URL and do either of the two things: Insert ‘nsfw’ before ‘YouTube’ in the URL and hit “reload” or put in ‘repeat’ after ‘YouTube’ in the URL and hit “reload.”

It seems despite the new restrictions, circumventing the age gate is, well, still child’s play.