YouTube Kids App Shows Inappropriate Videos

YouTube Kids App isn’t Working Properly

The application which was made solely for kids is not filtering out inappropriate videos.

A lot of parents that used the app for their kids are now concerned because YouTube said that this app wouldn’t have any inappropriate content. The parents were astonished to find out that Google didn’t work hard on the app because they found several videos that weren’t meant to be on that app.

The app which was aimed at preschoolers caused the consumers and the child advocacy groups to expand a complaint they sent to the Federal Trade Commission last month. A video which was available through the kid’s app was an ad for protective glasses that featured a nail gun being shot into a mannequin head.

Then there was a video in which a man was juggling chainsaws and knives, according to WSJ. Although the kids don’t know what toxic chlorine gas is but there was a video that showed them how to make some chlorine gas. Then there are ads for alcoholic products and then there are graphic discussions of pornography.

There is explicit sexual language in some of the videos. Then there were some videos that had jokes about pedophilia and drug use. The coalition wrote a letter which said that they have discovered Google’s deceptive practices towards parents are even more widespread and pervasive.

This app was launched in February on both Android and iOS. The app features short videos that are filtered for child-friendliness. When launching the app, Google said that the app will screen out the videos that make the parents nervous.

But then again there were several apps that were not family friendly at all. There was an early complaint made to the Federal Trade Commission and they took it seriously. Now there is a second complaint that was launched and it provides additional evidence that Google is engaging in deceptive acts.

Jeff Chester who is an executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington DC is a member of this coalition. He said that the content that they found was alarming and disturbing even for them.