YouTube still recommending eating disorder videos, researchers claim
Research from the Centre for Countering Digital Hate suggests that YouTube's algorithm still recommends harmful eating disorder content to teenage users. Despite new safety regulations, critics argue that platforms are failing to adequately protect minors from dangerous material.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between social media platform algorithms and the legal responsibility to protect vulnerable young users from harmful content.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Jim Reed Health reporter Getty Images YouTube is still recommending eating disorder videos to teenage users a year after new rules were introduced to curb harmful online content, according to new research.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) set up a simulated account for a 13-year-old girl viewing unsafe diet and body image content for the first time.
It found one in 10 videos recommended by YouTube's Up Next algorithm featured thinspiration, extreme calorie restriction or other harmful material, although the situation had improved over the past two years.
Google, which owns YouTube, said it had a "steadfast" commitment to stopping the spread of harmful content and the videos highlighted in the report had been removed.
The findings come after telecoms regulator Ofcom said YouTube and TikTok were still not doing enough to keep young people safe and called for stronger protections.
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