YouTube Is Banning Minors From Streaming Unless Accompanied By An Adult

TheGamer

By Josh Coulson

Published Jun 6, 2019

YouTube has introduced a new rule that makes it so minors cannot stream without an adult present, and disables comments for them.

via Youth Incoporated Magazine

Minors who stream their gaming exploits on YouTube will now have to do so with an adult present or face having their content removed from the site.

The sheer size and influence of the game streaming industry cannot be understated. Streaming stars such as Tfue and Summit1g are quickly becoming household names, especially if you have gamers and kids under your roof. There's money to be made in the industry too. Ninja claims to be taking in around $10 million a year off the back of his gaming exploits.

However, this relatively new form of media does come with a whole heap of issues, especially when it comes to those aforementioned kids. If you have kids, your number one priority is to protect them. When it comes to the internet, that can sometimes be easier said than done. Short of banning them from going online altogether, it is almost impossible to protect them from the potential dangers of the web.

That's why sites such as YouTube need to step up and lend a helping hand. This week, YouTube has taken a big step towards doing that. The site has made a number of changes to its policies regarding minors using YouTube. A number of younger gamers use YouTube to stream their gameplay, but they will no longer be able to do that alone.

YouTube's blog outlining the changes reads that it will "specifically disallow younger minors from live streaming unless they are clearly accompanied by an adult." The punishment for not following these new guidelines could be for the user's live streaming capabilities on YouTube to be withdrawn. We're also assuming that minor means anyone under the age of 18, and not the 13-year-old cutoff YouTube has in place for general users.

Having your mom hovering in the background while you show off how good you are at Fortnite might not be the coolest thing in the world, but it is a measure YouTube has felt the need to put in place. It has also disabled comments on any videos featuring minors, whether with an adult or not. This may seem extreme to some, and even annoying to others, but with the criticism YouTube has faced recently regarding minors using its platform, they were steps that needed to be taken.

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