Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WE’VE AD ENOUGH
Advertisers abandon Youtube as sick paedo comments are exposed
ADVERTISERS are abandoning Youtube after it was revealed innocent videos posted by children are bombarded with sick comments from paedophiles.
Brands including Lidl and Mars pulled deals with the website ahead of Black Friday, one of the biggest money-spinners for advertising.
The NSPCC called for an independent regulator to police the site, amid claims that existing moderation processes fail to protect kids.
Videos posted innocently by youngsters were viewed millions of times, with some viewers leaving explicit comments. Footage of a young girl rolling around on a bed was viewed 4.1 million times, another of a girl in her nightie got 6.5 million views.
Youtube uses algorithms and a “trusted flagger” programme to report inappropriate content. The trusted flagger system relies on a handful of volunteers scouring the site. They are not trained in child protection and rely on Google Translate to check foreign messages.
One volunteer claimed there are “at least 50,000 active predators” operating and called for a proper child safety team to tackle the scourge.
Tony Stower of the NSPCC called on ministers to fine social networks if they fail to protect youngsters.
Mars said: “We are appalled our adverts appeared alongside such content.” Lidl added: “It’s unacceptable that this content is available to view.”
Youtube said: “We have recently toughened our approach to videos and comments featuring children. In just the past week we’ve disabled comments on thousands of videos and shut down hundreds of accounts identified as making predatory comments. We are committed to getting this right.”