A fairly new app for kids claims to be “family friendly.” The YouTube Kids app was released in February for iTunes and Android. Supposedly, kids can watch appropriate smartphones and tablets. Google says it only shows kid-appropriate ads and that they have a rigorous screening process. They have also banned ads for food, beverages, video games, and beauty and fitness products.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood believes that “Google is engaged in deceptive marketing when it tells parents that YouTube Kids is a safe place to explore,” said Josh Golin, a spokesman for the CCC. They are claiming that there is adult content in cartoons or voice-overs of popular children’s characters with expletives. Other groups that are part of the complaint said they have been able to access marijuana videos, a TED talk on suicide, and dance lessons that included a crotch grab.
