According to CCFC, many such videos have no proper descriptions that reveal their essence. Moreover, they often go mixed with ordinary videos on YouTube. The group compared this to the children’s television of the 80s and 90s, when many cartoons were a hidden toy advertisement. The authors of the complaint believe that the disclosure of the essence of the rollers is not enough, because because of this, susceptible children are unlikely to stop watching them.
YouTube reaction to this complaint is quite mixed. The company said that the lack of descriptions is a violation of both the law and video service policy. And those videos that have such descriptions are not allowed to the YouTube Kids children’s application. The problem is that children often watch videos not through YouTube Kids, but through the standard version of the application.
It is not yet clear how FTC will react to the complaint. It will not be surprising if the commission does something more than simply improve the rules to disclose the essence of the content. If we take into account that few children suspect the presence of an advertising subtext in the videos, FTC may generally prohibit advertising content directed to children.
Source:
- Techcrunch