FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Fox 4 is digging deeper into how videos with dangerous content keep popping up on a well-known app designed for children.
Recently, some parents said they found several more inappropriate videos on the YouTube Kids app for many children to see.
“We have decided to ban it because it’s been a major issue for parents,” said mother Jazare Alvarez.
On Monday, a few parents at Lakes Park in Fort Myers said they’re disturbed and shocked over the videos their kids are coming across on their iPhones, iPads and more.
Alvarez said her 3-year-old son Ryder used the YouTube Kids app a lot until two weeks ago. “We do a lot of outside play, get him doing things socially, be active and not on apps all the time,” said mother Jazare Alvarez.
Other parents we spoke to said they’re doing the same thing. “It’s scary,” said mother, Jennifer Wavershak. “The violence is out there. I don’t even know how to stop it anymore.”
Parents said videos of violence, school shootings, suicide and other inappropriate behavior are constantly being found on the app. “Every second a video is up matters because that means for kids are seeing them,” said Dr. Free Hess.
Dr. Hess is a pediatrician in Gainesville Florida shared some videos on her blog. She said some have been up for days, weeks or even months at a time despite hundreds of people reporting and flagging them. She said what’s even more troubling was that some videos were popping up as recommended videos for kids to watch.
“Honestly I don’t think the reporting does anything,” said Wavershak.
“These things are supposed to be monitored and its scary that things can still slip through the cracks,” said Alvarez.
Fox 4 contacted YouTube about the videos and what’s being done to take them down sooner. A spokesperson said in part,"We work to ensure the videos in YouTube Kids are family-friendly and take feedback very seriously. Flagged videos are manually reviewed 24/7 and any videos that don't belong in the app are removed. We are making constant improvements to our systems and recognize there’s more work to do."
YouTube also said there have new controls available for parents including the ability to hand pick videos and channels in the app.
Dr. Hess said in most of the recent videos she reported to YouTube were actually taken down within 24 hours.
