YouTube Kids is getting its own website ahead of the announcement of an FTC settlement with its parent company, Google.
The platform is also getting an update that will help parents filter age-appropriate content.
YouTube Kids Website
Google just announced plans to launch a separate YouTube Kids website. This means that while parents of young children had to download the YouTube Kids app to a device to access the kid-friendly version of YouTube in the past, soon, children may be able to access it from the web as well.
The announcement did not come with details, but it is possible that YouTube on the web will have an age-gate that would redirect children below 13 years old to the filtered version.
FTC Settlement
YouTube has been criticized for letting inappropriate or even violent content reach young audiences, and this move is possibly in response to a reported settlement between the FTC and YouTube’s parent company, Google, regarding potential violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Although details of the settlement have not yet been revealed, recent reports state that the FTC found Google to have inadequately shielded the children who were using the platform and even collected their data. As a result, Google reportedly has to pay a multimillion-dollar fine and likely has to make changes.
Age Group Filters
The announcement of a separate YouTube Kids website was actually just a short addition to a forum post about YouTube Kids’ new feature that will help parents provide their children with the proper content for their age. This is because with the new update, parents can add age filters to YouTube Kids.
Three different age groups will be available: Preschool for children aged 4 and under, Younger for children ages 5 to 7, and Older for children ages 8 to 12. Preschool will focus on videos that promote creativity, learning, exploration, and playfulness, while Younger will allow kids to explore based on their interests in various topics. Older is designed for kids with growing independence to explore even more with music videos, family vlogs, and other content.
“Our systems work hard to exclude content not suitable for each of these age categories, but not all videos have been manually reviewed. If you find something inappropriate that we missed, you can block it or flag it for fast review,” said YouTube.
