YouTube cracks down on ‘dangerous’ internet challenge videos

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This week, YouTube has highlighted its new community guidelines regarding internet challenge videos and pranks considered harmful and dangerous.

The guidelines now allows the company to remove videos that depict dangerous challenges or pranks, like the recently popular Bird Box Challenge, the Tide Pod challenge, or 2018’s In My Feelings Challenge.

“Our Community Guidelines prohibit content that encourages dangerous activities that are likely to result in serious harm,” the company said on its support website.

Channels who violate these guidelines will receive strikes against their names as well.

According to the company, any challenges that can or have caused death, or make victims believe they are in serious danger, are considered inappropriate.

“We also don’t allow pranks that cause children to experience severe emotional distress, meaning something so bad that it could leave the child traumatized for life,” it noted further.

YouTube currently has a two month grace period for users to remove content that may violate these new policies, and channels will not receive strikes during this time.

“Additionally, content posted prior to these enforcement updates may be removed, but will not receive a strike,” the company concluded.

Feature image: YouTube

Shereesa Moodley
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