The Mystery Behind Children’s YouTube Videos

YouTube attracts many kids to its platform, but who is behind the videos they watch? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal by Yoree Koh and Betsy Morris tackles this question. The top ten children’s channels on YouTube are CoCoMelon, Vlad and Nikita, Like Nastya Vlog, Toys and Colors, Kids Diana Show, Ryan Toys Review, El Reino Infantil, Toys and Little Gaby, Family Games TV, and TocToc Toys. The Journal tried to contact all of these channels, but only one was reachable and communicative. Seven didn’t respond to communications or were unable to be found; two declined to be interviewed.

According to the Executive Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Josh Golin, being unable to identify creators of children’s YouTube programming “‘adds to the lack of accountability.’” YouTube has already been under fire recently for its lack of controls. Notably, some children’s videos reportedly showed a man urging and/or teaching kids to commit suicide, and other videos featuring children were found to have sexually suggestive comments posted on its board.

Parents should be mindful of the videos that your children watch, even on the YouTube Kids platform. CARU created a guide for parents to help keep kids safe online; refer to #3 specifically for tips regarding online video platforms such as YouTube and YouTube Kids.

Advocates believe Kid Influencers Deserve Same Protections as Other Child Stars

Although there are child labor laws in California that are designed to protect child stars from exploitation (The Coogan Act), the same protections don't always apply to child YouTube and Instagram stars, or kid influencers. Kid Influencers accounts are usually run by their parents since platforms like YouTube and Instagram have age limits of 13 years old. One consequence of not owning their accounts is that all profits received go directly to the guardians and, unlike traditional child actors in California, these guardians are not required to set aside some of the profits for the children. Advocates like Paul Petersen, believe the legal protections like those in California should apply to children outside of the state. Petersen has said that because YouTube is in San Bruno, California and they are paying to broadcast children, California law must apply to those child stars. Many guardians of kid influencers feel these regulations are unnecessary and that the guardians are doi...

CARU Speaks at Community Board in Manhattan

CARU staff attorney Andra Dallas gave a presentation to Community Board 1, serving lower Manhattan on Monday, December 7 th . Andra spoke to the Board’s Youth Committee about the importance of teaching children about understanding advertising and safe online practices. District Manager Noah Pfefferblit remarked, “thank you for your informative presentation to our Youth Committee members,” and offered the Board’s assistance if they “can be helpful to the important efforts at the Children's Advertising Review Unit.” Are you interested in having a CARU staff member visit your community board? Contact adallas@caru.bbb.org.

Kids Internet Design and Safety Act Seeks to Protect Children from Harmful Online Content

United States Senators, Mr. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut and Mr. Edward Markey from Massachusetts, introduced a new bill referred to as the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act (the “KIDS Act”). One of the Senator’s introducing the KIDS Act, Mr. Edward Markey, was the co-author of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). The KIDS Act seeks to include noteworthy advertising rules and create new protections for children online, specifically for online users under the age of 16. The proposed advertising rules within the KIDS Act are to ban websites from: (1) exposing young online users to advertisements “with embedded interactive elements”; (2) recommending any content involving alcohol, nicotine, or tobacco to young online users; and (3) recommending content that includes influencer marketing, like unboxing videos, or host-selling to young online users. Additionally, the KIDS Act seeks to prohibit certain online features to protect children, like prohibiting...

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