YouTube is disabling comments on millions of videos featuring minors, responding to accusations that pedophiles use comments to network and share links. The move comes a week after Disney, Fortnite maker Epic Games and other companies pulled their ads from YouTube.
YouTube says it has already disabled comments on "tens of millions of videos that could be subject to predatory behavior," and that it will broaden that effort in coming months to include more videos that feature young minors.
The company also plans to bar comments on videos featuring older minors if they're deemed to be "at risk" of attracting pedophiles' attention.
Reflecting the delicate complexities of policing a firehose of both content and comments, reaction to YouTube's announcement ranges from those who welcome it as a responsible change and those who criticize it as heavy-handed — and possibly damaging innocent video creators.
YouTube's new comment policy is the latest response to concerns that made headlines last week, when Matt Watson, a content creator on YouTube, posted a video accusing the service of "facilitating the sexual exploitation of children." Some of those videos also were monetized through ads, Watson said. He also accused YouTube's algorithm of serving up new child-related videos to predators.