The National Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children (NSPCC), a U.K.-based child protection charity, is warning YouTube stars against engaging in romantic relationships with their fans. Given widespread claims of inappropriate behavior by certain creators who abuse their newfound influence, the NSPCC’s head of participation, Emily Cherry, told the BBC that “blurred boundaries” can put young people at risk and that creators have a “responsibility” to ensure appropriate interactions.
The BBC notes that several young fans have engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with creators including Jason Viohni and Alex Day. Viohni was alleged to have brought alcohol to have sex with a 15-year-old fan, which he later apologized for, while Day has had 14 different allegations of abuse waged against him, the BBC notes, though he has never been legally charged.
“These people didn’t feel like fans,” Day, who has since apologized for his actions, told the BBC. “I never felt like I was taking advantage of people at the time — but if people say I did, then I did.”
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While the NSPCC urges children never to share personal information online, not to accept friend requests from strangers, and to let their parents know about all of their online activities, YouTube, for its part, says ensuring fan safety is a multi-tiered effort. “We try to provide practical support and guidance to creators to help them create the right kind of content and have the right kind of interaction with their fans,” YouTube spokeswoman Thea O’Hear told the BBC, referring to the site’s Community Guidelines. “It’s also around parents being involved, and schools, and everybody having a really good understanding of what it is to be a young person in the 21st Century.”
