What pranks will be banned on YouTube?
Video streaming site updates guidelines on stunts that present ‘risk of serious danger or death’

YouTube has announced that it is banning videos depicting dangerous pranks, amid a flood of clips on the platform showing people inadvertently hurting themselves or others.
The video streaming site, owned by Google, updated its community guidelines this week in order to include a ban on so-called challenges that present “a risk of serious danger or death, and pranks that make victims believe they’re in serious physical danger, or cause children to experience severe emotional distress”.
“We don’t allow pranks that make victims believe they’re in serious physical danger - for example, a home invasion prank or a drive-by shooting prank,” continues a statement on the site’s FAQ section.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This includes pranks where someone is tricked into thinking they are in severe danger, even if no real threat existed, the BBC adds.
Tech news site Android Central says the announcement comes after a teenager in Utah crashed a car while doing the “Bird Box Challenge”, which involves people undertaking everyday tasks while blindfolded.
Last year the “Fire Challenge” saw people putting flammable liquid on their bodies and then igniting it, while a “Tide Pod Challenge” involved participants biting or chewing laundry detergent pods, which contain bleach.
The challenges were taken on by some of the platform’s most popular content creators, with some of the resulting videos racking up millions of views.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
YouTube pledged to crack down on harmful content last April, when the company said it would develop “better tools for detecting inappropriate and misleading metadata and thumbnails so we can take fast action against them”.
But a recent investigation by Buzzfeed found that dodgy videos showing graphic images of beastiality were still easily accessible on the platform.
Tech site Gizmodo suggest the platform’s moderation team is “overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content on it”, making regulation difficult.
-
Quiz of The Week: 30 August – 5 September
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A quick escape, an underground classroom, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: What does Bake Off say about Channel 4?
Podcast Plus, why are Scottish drug deaths so stubbornly high? And are women in their 30s too anxious about their eggs?
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month