The Digester
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Experts urge Google to ban AI-generated videos for children

More than 200 experts and advocacy groups asked Alphabet and YouTube to stop hosting and recommending AI-generated videos to children, citing potential developmental harm and ineffective disclosure practices.

Apr 1st 2026 · United States

Insights

  • Over 200 child development experts and advocacy groups sent an open letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.
  • They demand YouTube remove synthetic media from YouTube Kids and stop recommending AI-generated videos to all users under 18.
  • Signatories include the American Federation of Teachers and psychologist Jonathan Haidt.
  • The coalition called low-quality, high-volume AI content "AI slop" and warned it may harm attention and child development without supporting research.
  • Advocates said the required "altered and synthetic" labels are ineffective for preliterate children.
  • YouTube said it limits AI content on its Kids app to a small set of channels and requires creators to disclose realistic AI content.
  • The letter also asked Google to halt investments in creating AI-generated videos for children and cited investigations finding inappropriate AI clips under kid-friendly tags.

Sources