One attorney says he is glad to hear this, but why did it take so long?
These controls include screen time limits for YouTube Shorts, emphasizing content that is educational, and adding a new process for signing up that will simplify the ability for parents to make new kids' accounts on the app.
YouTube Shorts are short, vertical videos designed for quick viewing on mobile devices. They are roughly 60 seconds in length and are YouTube’s answer to TikTok and Instagram Reels.
The news comes as tech giants continue to face pressure to protect kids on the internet.
Dr. Garth Graham is Global head of YouTube Health. He appeared on Fox.
“In just a couple of taps you'll be able to sign up, and this will be on the app or YouTube TV, so it’s really making it a lot easier for parents to sign up for these supervised teen accounts."
He explained what they're doing for YouTube Shorts.
YouTube says, “we’re going to make it easier for parents to set them on a time that kids spend scrolling through Shorts. They can set the timer. They can even set that time to zero. So, it’s giving parents a lot more control over the time that kids spend.”
YouTube provides a lot of benefits for kids, he said.
“It’s a place where they go, and they hear the music, or they get help with math and a lot of different things.”
Better late than never says Matthew Bergman, the founding attorney of Social Media Victims Law Center.
“My general thought is what took you so long. Why did so many kids have to die? Why did so many children have to be abused? Why did so many kids have to develop eating disorders by YouTube content that they were fed through the algorithms to get to this point? That said, I think these are … it's a very good start. Better late than never."
Parents need to keep a vigilant watch to make sure YouTube is doing what it says it will do, he said.
“I think we have to be very careful to remember that as long as YouTube is making its money based on the engagement that kids have, as long as they show kids not what they want to see through their algorithms, but what they can't look away from, we've still got a problem.”
Progress has to begin somewhere.
“These are very good starts. Empowering parents is the name of the game, and it's nice to see that YouTube has taken these steps to ensure that parents have at least a fighting chance to control what their kids are being confronted with on the Internet and on social media."
Bergman added that in "too many instances", social media companies work to "thwart" parental responsibility by making it difficult or even impossible for parents to do their job in protecting their children and teens. One way he said they do this by encouraging the kids to open numerous accounts to establish fake addresses.
“Most parents are really doing their level best paddling upstream to try to control and monitor what their kids are doing online, and these companies should be making it easier, not harder, for parents to do that important work."
