YouTube is moving to tighten the rules around who can go live on its platform, aiming to better protect younger users from potential harm. From next month, anyone wanting to start a livestream will need to be at least 16 years old, raising the minimum age to help create safer spaces for children online.
"As of July 22, we are increasing the minimum age required to live stream to 16 years old. This means that creators will need to be 16 or older to be able to live stream on YouTube."
The platform also plans to start taking down livestreams that show underage users without an adult present. Alongside this, live chats linked to streams featuring young teens may be disabled, and accounts could temporarily lose certain features if they don’t meet these new safety standards.
The decision will likely affect many teenage gamers who often begin streaming in their early years, as the change now pushes back the point when they can start building their livestreaming presence. Even so, YouTube seems to be moving towards a clearer focus on child safety, responding to growing concerns about the risks children face when streaming without proper oversight.
Although YouTube hasn’t formally explained the reason behind this adjustment, it’s not hard to trace where the pressure might be coming from. Over the years, there have been repeated reports of teenagers appearing in vulnerable situations during live broadcasts, with gaps in platform safeguards leaving room for exploitation. Tightening these livestreaming rules might help address some of these lingering issues.
At the same time, YouTube’s approach is being watched closely in Australia, where lawmakers are preparing to enforce new social media age limits. The Australian government is working to introduce a 16-year-old access requirement across all social platforms. So far, YouTube has managed to avoid being included in this upcoming restriction, mainly because its educational content gives it a somewhat different role compared to other social apps. Even so, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has recently argued that YouTube should fall under the same age rules, warning that the platform still carries risks for young people.
It seems unlikely that this update will bring major changes to the platform’s broader activity, but it does signal a firmer stance on keeping younger users out of potentially unsafe live environments. The move feels like a reasonable step in the right direction for YouTube as it works to make livestreaming safer for everyone.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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"As of July 22, we are increasing the minimum age required to live stream to 16 years old. This means that creators will need to be 16 or older to be able to live stream on YouTube."
The platform also plans to start taking down livestreams that show underage users without an adult present. Alongside this, live chats linked to streams featuring young teens may be disabled, and accounts could temporarily lose certain features if they don’t meet these new safety standards.
The decision will likely affect many teenage gamers who often begin streaming in their early years, as the change now pushes back the point when they can start building their livestreaming presence. Even so, YouTube seems to be moving towards a clearer focus on child safety, responding to growing concerns about the risks children face when streaming without proper oversight.
Although YouTube hasn’t formally explained the reason behind this adjustment, it’s not hard to trace where the pressure might be coming from. Over the years, there have been repeated reports of teenagers appearing in vulnerable situations during live broadcasts, with gaps in platform safeguards leaving room for exploitation. Tightening these livestreaming rules might help address some of these lingering issues.
At the same time, YouTube’s approach is being watched closely in Australia, where lawmakers are preparing to enforce new social media age limits. The Australian government is working to introduce a 16-year-old access requirement across all social platforms. So far, YouTube has managed to avoid being included in this upcoming restriction, mainly because its educational content gives it a somewhat different role compared to other social apps. Even so, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has recently argued that YouTube should fall under the same age rules, warning that the platform still carries risks for young people.
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It seems unlikely that this update will bring major changes to the platform’s broader activity, but it does signal a firmer stance on keeping younger users out of potentially unsafe live environments. The move feels like a reasonable step in the right direction for YouTube as it works to make livestreaming safer for everyone.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Court Sides With Meta in Authors’ AI Lawsuit, Dismisses Copyright Claims
