Recently the Media Research Center (MRC), one of the largest media watchdog groups in America, put out an official report about the volume of soft-core pornography on YouTube. Read the Executive Summary and the Full Report on the Culture and Media Institute website. Bear in mind: the report itself is quite explicit in its findings. Reader discretion is advised.
CMI looked at the most popular search results for the word “porn” – yielding 157 videos that each had more than 1 million views. While YouTube blocks actual nudity, there are many videos, images, and words adults would find objectionable.
- Searching the word “porn” returns more than 330,000 results, many of which are sexually suggestive in their language and themes.
- Two-thirds of the 157 “porn” videos advertise themselves as being actual pornography.
- Many videos feature clips from actual porn movies, interviews with porn stars, advertisements for porn sites, and phone sex lines.
- Profanity is also commonplace in the titles and comments for the videos
The CMI recommends that parents monitor their children when it comes to YouTube, and remember that even seemingly harmless videos and search terms can have bad results.
One way a parent can do these things is by installing a good accountability software option. Encourage open communication in the home about what is seen and heard online. Nurture an at-home culture of accountability, especially when it comes to media. Covenant Eyes Accountability Software does an excellent job rating not only the videos watched, but also the related items on every single Web page (such as links, comments, and “related videos”).
My son had no problem looking up and watching explicit videos on you tube on our laptop qith covenant eyes installed. It never flagged us at all. The filter is at mature teen. I was horrified when I logged into his you tube account. Why is that?l
Hi, Mary – YouTube is tough, and without being on the phone with you to diagnose the problem, I’ll give you some things to consider. Even after reading these, you might want to call CE customer service at 1-877-479-1119.
A few suggestions I have: If you don’t see the videos on the report, then try lowering the report Sensitivity Level to Teen. That way ANY YouTube activity will now show up on the report. The second suggestion I have is enabling the ‘Restricted Mode’ on YouTube. This will help restrict a user from viewing pornographic videos. The restricted mode is not the end all be all, it too does have its flaws, but it is better than nothing.
I hope that helps. When someone is logged in to YouTube, it’s a secured connection (https://) which blocks our view into the exact title visited. But, anything with a highly mature title should still flag. The problem comes when someone puts a porn video behind the title, “Cute Kittens”. Video creators know this.
This is where restricted mode, locked in, becomes the best way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXk5-QUMAo8
Best, Chris
My son’s settings for covenant eyes are “teen.” I want my son to be able to access you tube without access to inappropriate videos. It is not blocking anything on you tube. Please help.
Tracy
Hi, Tracy – it sounds like you are also using our filter. YouTube is rated teen and so at that setting, it is allowed to be watched, but we do not block individual videos within YouTube. Is he using a mobile device for the viewing? One of our Customer Service Reps can walk you through any other questions you might have (tel:877.479.1119).
Peace, Chris
What about sites that are allowed but they have videos embedded that are inappropriate? How do we block those? Sports sites commonly have this.
Hi Amy – YouTube is a stinker. It is very, very hard to control all of its content. Another software that we sometimes recommend specifically for YouTube issues is Mobicip (http://protectyoungeyes.com/content/mobicip-software/) which does a really good job blocking inappropriate YouTube thumbnail images embedded in other sites. You might give it a try on whatever device you’re allowing children to use. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Peace, Chris
Covenant Eyes
Hi im trying to help my bf block youtube…like put it on the block list and it wont work! how do i do this?
Hello Emily,
Thank you for contacting us! There are some secondary URLs that will also need to be added to the block list in order to block youtube. Please contact our Customer Service 877.479.1119 and we will be more than happy to assist you!
Best regards,
Annelise
I started a site youtube-porn tumblr, I haven’t had any problem finding videos. But when I post them they do get deleted.
Yes please do! The person was logged in you are correct- good thing I know YouTube keeps a history. Lol. Also, does Facebook do the same? Pages visited aren’t necessarily working either
Facebook is exactly the same, yes.
Luke-
Whenever I see YouTube on a report, it doesn’t always report videos watched. I’ve tested it, it often says something like http://www.youtube.com/API or something along those lines. Is there a reason for this?
Hi Carrie. One possibility is that the person using YouTube is logged into YouTube at the time. This means all the web addresses are “secure” or hidden. We are actually working on some report improvements that will solve for that. Do you want me to keep you posted as improvements are released?
There is a person on YouTube that has put up a dirty picture on his profile I found out through a ten year old friend of mine. It’s of two anime characters having sex.
I understand he hates anime BUT he should not be putting Lewd picture up for kids to see.
Yeah, YouTube can be dangerous. I generally don’t browse the site. I only visit if there’s something specific I’m looking for. Browsing and looking at peoples profiles will only get you into trouble.
Is the covenant eyes software that we have the same as covenant eyes accountability software? I didn’t realize it rated individual videos. I just thought it says “You Tube”
@Rose – Yes. It is the same. Our rating system examines everything on a Web page: so on a YouTube video it will rate any text on the page (including comments made by others, titles of related videos, etc.), and any links to other places on YouTube. For this reason some video pages will rate higher than others. I might also add that these ratings can change over time because content on YouTube changes all the time. Our rating system is dynamic, allowing it to be flexible with rapidly changing video networks, like YouTube.
I am confused if it helps in the case of all the you tubes showing young girls in gymnastics etc…..this is where my problem lies.
Hi, Melvin – it sounds like you know the problem. So, now it’s time to get serious and get rid of YouTube. Can you do that?