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Children can be as little as three clicks away from adult content on YouTube, warns Kaspersky Lab.
Examining YouTube’s ‘suggested’ videos, which sit visibly alongside clips or episodes of popular children’s television programmes such as Peppa Pig, Rastamouse and Dora the Explorer, Kaspersky researchers found that users can be just three clicks away from content better suited to a more mature audience.
David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab commented: “It’s worrying to see just how simple it is for children to access videos of an adult nature on YouTube. With younger generations becoming more IT literate and parents increasingly turning to mobile devices, online games and apps as a means of entertaining their kids, these results highlight the importance of taking steps to protect them online.”
This research comes ahead of Safer Internet Day, which takes place on February 5th. The event aims to highlight the rights and responsibilities of young people online and educate them on the need to discover the digital world safely.
“Safer Internet Day is all about educating and promoting safer, more responsible behaviour for young people, but adults must take responsibility too. Having parental controls in place is vital and can be highly effective in combatting objectionable material. YouTube’s Safety Mode feature aims to help parents screen out unsuitable content, but it can’t provide 100% protection,” said Emm.
