YouTube BANS dangerous pranks: Distressing or risky clips will be removed after slew of Bird Box-inspired video challenges
- Youtube is home to many challenges including the famous ice bucket challenge
- But the firm has warned users not to post videos of dangerous ‘prank’ activities
- The video platform already has a policy in place but has now clarified the rules
- This follows a series of videos of people performing dangerous tasks including Bird Box challenge and the Tide Pod challenge
YouTube has banned people from posting videos of dangerous pranks, following a series of potentially fatal challenges uploaded to their site.
The most recent of these challenges involved performing tasks like driving or running blindfolded – inspired by the Netflix film Bird Box.
From now on, the site said it would not allow videos that featured ‘pranks with a perceived danger of serious physical injury’.
YouTube has banned people from posting videos of dangerous pranks, following a series of potentially fatal challenges uploaded to their site. The most recent of these challenges involved performing tasks like driving or running blindfolded – inspired by the Netflix film Bird Box
In Bird Box, Sandra Bullock plays a woman who constantly wears a blindfold to avoid seeing mysterious forces that compel people to commit suicide.
Footage of people imitating scenes from the film, driving cars and even a tattoo artist working on a client – all while blindfolded – have been posted to the site.
One US teenager crashed her vehicle after pulling her hat over her eyes and driving towards oncoming traffic in the name of the so-called ‘Bird Box Challenge’.
YouTube has banned the depiction of such behaviour completely, citing similar memes such as the Tide pod challenge and the fire challenge.
The Tide pod challenge refers to a dare game involving the consumption of Tide PODS laundry detergent capsules.
The fire challenge is the application of flammable liquids to one’s body and then setting the liquids alight.
Youtube creators have been using the platform for variety of challenges – such as the ice bucket challenge to raise money for charity. But one dangerous trend inspired by Netflix show Bird Box is where users are encouraged to drive while blindfolded
From now on, the site said it would not allow videos that featured ‘pranks with a perceived danger of serious physical injury’. One video shows a father gripping his two young children’s hands as he runs through his home before the toddler crashes into a wall
Like the Bird Box Challenge, these potentially lethal actions are recorded and posted online.
Challenges ‘that can cause death and/or have caused death in some instances have no place on YouTube’, the company said.
Last year, an awareness campaign was launched after a potentially fatal challenge to eat Tide detergent pods went viral, leading to teens being poisoned.
One US teenager crashed her vehicle after pulling her hat over her eyes and driving towards oncoming traffic in the name of the so-called ‘Bird Box Challenge’. Here, her car and the car she crashed into after the accident
While playful challenges or pranks have become raging trends online, with video shared at YouTube or Facebook, some ‘memes’ have put people in jeopardy. Here, a man does a tattoo on another man blindfolded
The new clarifications ‘make it clear that challenges like the Tide pod challenge, that can cause death and/or have caused death in some instances, have no place on YouTube,’ the company wrote in a blog post.
‘We’ve made it clear that our policies prohibiting harmful and dangerous content also extend to pranks with a perceived danger of serious physical injury.’
‘That said, we’ve always had policies to make sure what’s funny doesn’t cross the line into also being harmful or dangerous.’
YouTube has banned people from posting videos of dangerous pranks, following a series of potentially fatal challenges uploaded to their site. Footage posted online shows a man traversing through his backyard while his excited Husky puppies jump on him
YouTube has banned the depiction of such behaviour completely, citing similar memes such as the Tide pod challenge and the fire challenge. Other videos show children riding bikes while blindfolded and crashing into chairs
YouTube is also banning pranks that while physically harmless, may cause serious distress to children.
In July, Youtube banned one couple who regularly posted videos that drew concern from their audience, who criticised the pair for their behaviour which they felt was ‘abusive’.
In one instance, one of the parent’s instructed one of his children to slap his daughter in the face.