YouTube has banned all personalised ads on videos that are “made for kids” as it continues its efforts to improve child safety and privacy on the platform.
YouTube announced the changes in September last year following pressure from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which raised concerns about the video viewing environment for children.
The new measures now requires content creators to label uploaded clips as child-friendly if applicable.
Videos catered towards younger viewers will also have limited engagement features, which means that comments, stories, live chat and notifications will all be removed.
“We know these changes may have significant impact on creators making kids content, so we’re committed to helping them navigate this new landscape,” YouTube said in a statement this week.
Creators will now be able to select from three options when uploading a video: “no made for kids content”, “a combination of both made for kids and not made for kids content”, and “a lot of made for kids content”.
YouTube said that creators should know their content best and that it is up to them to make the distinction.
The Google-owned platform will also leverage machine learning to ensure that the distinction is accurate and said that creators can make alterations if they think that something is incorrect.
Since the brand safety scandal several years ago, YouTube has been in a constant battle to remove inappropriate content from the platform.
YouTube previously stated that its flagship app is not designed for children, but it was forced to step up its child safety policies after criticism of its lax measures by consumer groups and the FTC.
