Protect kids from online drug videos

THE Home Office says anything that is illegal offline should be illegal online.

That’s a fantastic idea. The problem is, it’s incredibly difficult to enforce.

There are many problems with trying to regulate the internet – particularly social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and, of course, Youtube.

Everyone knows about Youtube. It has been phenomenally popular since its launch in 2005 and has grown at a quite incredible rate.

Statistics show that more than 400 hours of content are uploaded to the site every minute, while more than a billion hours are watched by users every day.

So one difficulty in trying to regulate it would be the sheer amount to process.

That and users’ anonymity make the site very tough to control – but easy for videos like those we expose in today’s Sunday People to slip through.

UK schoolchildren are posting tutorials showing others how to take deadly illegal drugs. They have attracted millions of hits.

Campaigners and families who have lost loved ones to such drugs are worried. But though it might be difficult to manage Youtube, some simple things can be done.

The Home Office needs to follow through on its words and keep pressure on Youtube, as well as other sites.

Youtube itself needs to take reports of these videos and the concerns of parents seriously.

Its bosses should tighten up their rules and create a system for identifying and removing videos that are causing distress.

Parents, teachers, family and friends can do their bit as well by learning about and looking for the warning signs of drug use.

If everyone works together we protect our youngsters and end these sick films.