YouTube flags horror video as “for kids,” won’t let creator change rating

Enlarge / YouTube thinks the dark and creepy "Local58TV" series is for kids. (credit: Local58TV)

Google's wonderful content moderation bots are at it again. After previously doing things like including suicide instructions in a children's video and the whole Elsagate problem, YouTube is now flagging a horror video as "for kids." Worst of all, this is against the creator's wishes. The video was previously flagged as for ages 18 and up, and YouTube decided it was for kids and won't let the creator restore its content rating.

The video in question is from horror series Local58TV. The creator, Kris Straub, checked his account over the weekend to find that his not-for-kids content has been spotted by YouTube's content moderation AI and automatically marked for kids.

congrats @youtube on the decision to auto-designate @LOCAL58TV's show for children" as FOR KIDS despite my having set it as inappropriate for kids. i also can't change it voluntarily without an *appeal* pic.twitter.com/dnhmzL9hbi

- Kris Straub (@krisstraub) July 5, 2022

"For kids" in this context means Google has flagged the video for inclusion in the "YouTube Kids" app, which is a separate interface for YouTube that is supposed to only show a "safe" curated slice of YouTube. The "Kids" flag also means the video is forced to comply with US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), so comments are turned off.

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