YouTube to ban dangerous videos

The world’s biggest video sharing platform, YouTube, decided to ban video clips of dangerous behavior, like driving with covered eyes or eating laundry detergent.

CNN reported Wednesday that videos in which people could die or videos which show pranks that killed people are now restricted, according to an update of YouTube’s guidelines posted on their official blog.

YouTube has already prohibited “harmful and dangerous contents,” but this time they give shape to the restriction by targeting what could be defined as “pranks that can cause serious physical injury.”

The platform came up with this measure last December when the “Bird Box challenge,” in which participants would carry out daily activities while blindfolded, became a trend.

The most recent incident took place in Utah, where a teenager caused a car accident after driving while blindfolded.

The platform points out that it now forbids “pranks for entertainment, as people can actually face severe injuries.” They gave video creators a two-month grace period to organize their content on their own, before the restriction will be put into effect.

By Louise Schneider