YouTube Suspends Kid's Account, Gets Porn Fest In Protest | Hacker News Reader

YouTube Suspends Kid's Account, Gets Porn Fest In Protest

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12 pointspmorici6 comments

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I was at a social network security conference recently where someone from Youtube gave a talk about the issues they face. He said 4chan has been trying to porn-flood them for a long time (echoing what the Youtube representative said in this article), and described some of their attempts. The general ineptitude of the attacks is hilarious: in one instance, they apparently failed to take timezones into consideration in launching a co-ordinated attack.

Why am I mentioning this? Because of the "Myth of the Superuser," the tendency of the media to exaggerate and lawmakers to overreact to the power of pranksters online. I refer to this paper by Paul Ohm: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=967372

4chan in particular tends to be sensationalized so often, so it's good to keep the right perspective.

Another day on the Internet. It seems some people just have way too much free time on their hands. Nothing to see here, move along.

That's not what I found interesting about it. If you watch the kids video it is being filmed by the grandmother. Presumably she isn't below the age limit.

I think its kinda cute, especially the kid getting mad excited about going from 11 subscribers to 300 odd "in a day". I think it is a bit of a shame YouTube pulled the plug on it.

To me this highlights a very interesting conflict in today's society. There is a very strong "protect the children" argument. I constantly worry that this premise results in a caste system where being under 18 effectively renders you a second-rate citizen.

If you're under 18 the world is mainly full of STFU and GTFO. Much like the result of this kid's interactions with YouTube.

I think YouTube did the right thing. You don't want to become an "Internet meme" at least not when you're 13 and can't possibly see the consequences of your "fame". Had YouTube not pulled the plug this could have become an experience that deformed and damaged the kid's self image which is something very dangerous in the pre-teen age. This way however, this will be a cool story he will able to brag about to his friends over and over again: "Have I told you the story when I suddenly became an Internet celebrity but YouTube shut it down"?

Seriously I thing that being a bit of protective over kids is not that a bad thing at all. Of course I'm not saying that childhood should be a prison or something but some due parenting is totally fine. I know that I did a lot of stupid things when I was a kid (without my parents knowledge), who knows what sort of stuff I would've done if I was actually allowed to do them?

> Known in real life as Luke Taylor

I don't quite know why, but I was struck by this phrase when I read the article. It almost seems to be saying something the definitions of our 'real life' identities as opposed to, or in addition to, our online personas. It's almost assuredly unintentional, but it made me pause to reflect for a moment.

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