YouTube ups minimum age for live streaming to boost child safety

What you need to know

• YouTube detailed a minimum age requirement change for streaming, pushing it from 13 to 16.
• Those under 16 (users aged 13-15) need to have an adult "visibly present" at all times, lest they risk violating YouTube's new rules.
• The platform was testing a livestream leaderboard earlier this year for users who chat a lot, send Super Chats, and more.

YouTube is detailing a child safety change on its platform for minors who are looking to start streaming.

The platform highlighted an update to its minimum age requirement in an updated live stream restrictions post. According to YouTube, on July 22, it will boost the minimum streaming age from 13 to 16. Young content creators who are 16 or older can live stream with their chat enabled and without facing any takedowns (other than if you're flagged for copyright violations). However, creators younger than 16 (aged 13-15) will need to have an adult present during their streams.

YouTube states that an adult is not "visibly present;" not only will your chat be disabled, but "other features," as well.

The post explains there are plans to expand on these violations, with YouTube stating, "...in the future, we plan to take down these live streams and the account may temporarily lose its ability to live stream."

YouTube suggests young creators streaming with an adult can give them channel access. This can happen by granting them editor, manager, or owner privileges. There's also a set of "best streaming practices" for minors to take (and for parents to check out) before going live.

YouTube's recent developments

YouTube started testing a new, community-focused feature for live streams that brought a leaderboard to fans. The test involved giving users a way to earn points in the following ways: chatting, Super Chats, and being active. Those who are (quite literally) doing the most were featured on a top 50 leaderboard. However, those who went even further, entering the top three, would receive a shiny badge to flex on everyone else.

Aside from streams, the company has started a test that'll run from June 26 to July 30, which is its own take on AI Overviews. Available for Android and iOS devices, certain queries will display an AI-generated "Highlight." These will feature short video clips, each with an AI-created title and description about your query to give useful insights.

While it quite similar to Google Search's AI Overviews, YouTube's variant leans heavily on its clips, giving users the option to tap on them to view the full video.