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.
Subscribe to 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.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Her Lotus Year: Paul French's new biography sets lurid rumours straight
The Week Recommends Wallis Simpson's year in China is less scandalous, but 'more interesting' than previously thought
By The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - November 21, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - wild cards, wild turkeys, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Say Nothing: 'sensational' dramatisation of Patrick Radden Keefe's bestselling book
The Week Recommends The series is a 'powerful reminder' of the Troubles
By The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published