Lawmakers call YouTube Kids a ‘wasteland of vapid’ content

A congressional investigation into YouTube Kids comes a year into the pandemic that has shuttered schools and left parents who are working from home increasingly reliant on internet services to keep kids occupied. A House subcommittee is investigating YouTube Kids, saying the Google-owned video service feeds children inappropriate material in “a wasteland of vapid, consumerist content” so it can serve them ads. “We’ve made significant investments in the YouTube Kids app to make it safer and to serve more educational and enriching content for kids, based on principles developed with experts and parents,” the company said. “YouTube Kids spends no time or effort determining the appropriateness of content before it becomes available for children to watch,” the letter says. YouTube only asks that they consider factors including the subject matter of the video, whether the video has an emphasis on kids characters, themes, toys or games, and more.” Awards Advocacy groups say YouTube Kids App contains explicit, profane videos Google came under fire Tuesday after a string of children’s advocacy groups filed an update to their Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging the YouTube Kids App contains content that “would be extremely disturbing” and “potentially harmful” for young children.