If you want to go live on YouTube, you’ll need to make sure that you’re all grown up. The Alphabet-owned platform is looking to protect its teenage users by raising the minimum age for hosting live streams from 13 to 16.
The new policy will go into effect on July 22. From that point on, YouTube streamers under the age of 16 will need to be accompanied by an adult. Anyone caught violating that age line will have certain privileges revoked.
“Live streams featuring 13 to 15-year-olds who are not visibly accompanied by an adult may have their live chat disabled and the account may temporarily lose access to live chat or other features,” reads YouTube’s decree. “In the future, we plan to take down these live streams and the account may temporarily lose its ability to live stream.”
The chaperones may not sit idly by while their teenage charges host streams. Per YouTube’s rules, “the adult has to be visibly present and engage in the livestream as much as you do so that we know that you are co-creating with them.”
That may sound strict, but YouTube is responding to a pervasive problem that affects Gen Z and Gen Alpha users on social media. Watchdogs have scrutinized those platforms to determine whether they negatively affect the mental health of under-18 users. YouTube has responded to those inquiries with a flurry of relevant features, and the age-gated streams are the latest addition to that toolkit.
The major streaming platforms have taken similar approaches to the topic of live broadcasts led by teenagers. On Twitch, for example, users who are older than 13 but younger than the age of majority can stream with parental supervision. Parents can also apply filters to affect the sort of content their kids can view. TikTok Live is limited to over-18 streamers, and Instagram’s teen accounts require the consent of a guardian as well.
Despite those efforts, there are still far too many stories of predators preying on younger streamers. YouTube is not ignoring that problem — which may be one reason why teens say they trust the video hub more than some of its rivals.
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