YouTube Announces Stricter Age Restrictions for Violent Gaming Videos Starting November 17

YouTube, an online video and music streaming platform, is once again tightening its content policies, keeping youngsters in India. This time, the platform is focusing on video game footage. The new policy will be effective from November 17. Under this policy, YouTube will be restricting video games that feature realistic human characters who are involved in graphically intense and violent acts. These will be scenes especially showcasing mass violence and torture.

YouTube’s New Policy for Gaming Content

The new YouTube policy will restrict users under 18 from watching video game content that involves graphically intense and torture scenes. Videos that are filled with realistic human characters and involve violent acts in the game will be restricted for youngsters.

This policy aims to make the site safer for young audiences. The company indicates that it will now consider the duration of a violent scene within the game. It means if the violence is directed at the character in the game or toward a character resembling an actual human being, it is more likely to be restricted. This means users under 18 or those not signed in will not be able to watch such content.

Nevertheless, YouTube didn’t specify which games will be affected, but it could impact popular titles, including Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. These games are characterized by realistic violence. Talking about the new policy, YouTube spokesperson Boot Bullwinkle mentions that creators misuse the age restrictions by making the video blurred or skipping the violent sections, or by playing missions differently to avoid disturbing visuals.

The New Update Will Extend to the Current Policy

The new policy will extend to the platform’s existing rule that already restricts videos showing dramatized torture, blood, violence, or violent deaths. So far, video games have been viewed as an exception due to the fact that what they contain is fiction. However, it is with the current, very realistic graphics that YouTube is heading towards a more restrictive moderation.

Restrictions on Gambling and Digital Goods Content

Besides violence, YouTube will also target those who connect to online gambling. The creators cannot refer the viewers to the gambling platforms or online betting using in-game items such as skins, NFTs, or cosmetics. Years before, YouTube had already prohibited underage users from viewing gambling-related videos, and it banned creators from referring to unapproved gambling services.