AI is increasing in children, experts ask YouTube to tighten policies
Jakarta – More and more children are consuming artificial intelligence-based video content or AI, raising concerns from experts regarding its impact on mental development. This phenomenon is known as “AI Slop”, which is a low-quality AI content which is considered to be confusing and affect the way children think.
Child protection organizations and child development experts are calling on YouTube to immediately tighten policies related to the content. They conveyed this insistence through an open letter to CEO Sundar Pichai and Neil Mohan. The coalition led by the non-profit organization Fairplay assesses that there is no evidence that AI content is safe for children. They are worried that this kind of video can make children glued to the screen and interfere with cognitive development.
In the letter, experts asserted that AI content for children has not been tested for safety and risks affecting mental conditions and behavior if consumed in excess. “There is no evidence that this content is safe for children, and has the potential to make them glued and mentally affected,” wrote the coalition in the letter.
Furthermore, experts highlight potential serious impacts such as distortion of reality perception and excessive cognitive load. In addition, excessive exposure to content is also considered to reduce real world activities that are important for children’s growth and development. This concern grew stronger after YouTube collaborated with studio AI Animaj which produces children’s content with billions of views. This step is considered to have the potential to expand the spread of AI content in an early age audience.
Child development expert, Jenny Radesky, believes that digital platforms should pay more attention to the impact of content on children. He stressed that children should not only be seen as targets of attention without considering their mental health. “It’s time for the platform to respect children’s attention and thoughts, not just making it a source of profit,” he said in Mashable, quoted Monday (6/4/2026).
In addition, the author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, also signed the letter as a form of concern. This shows that the issue of exposure to digital content in children is a broad concern among academics. The coalition then proposed a number of policy steps to digital platforms to better protect children from exposure to AI content. They encourage restrictions on the distribution of AI content, label transparency, to greater control for parents in regulating child content consumption.
In response to this, YouTube stated that it had implemented strict standards for children’s content. The platform also claims to display only AI content from high-quality channels in the YouTube Kids app and provides a blocking feature for parents. “We have high standards for children’s content and are constantly updating policies to keep them relevant,” a YouTube spokesperson said.
Even so, criticism is still emerging because the algorithm system is considered to still encourage children to continue to consume similar content. Even the New York Times report found thousands of low-quality AI videos that are still circulating and some violate child safety policies. Fairplay program director, Rachel Franz, assessed that this condition makes it difficult for children to avoid AI content. He emphasized that digital platforms must act immediately before the impact is increasingly widespread on the younger generation. “The algorithm makes children unable to avoid this content,” he said.
Until now, YouTube is still the most popular video platform among children, especially in low-income families. This condition makes the issue of digital content security increasingly urgent to be taken seriously.
