Children exposed to horror film ads on YouTube

Children were left distressed after seeing ads for a horror film on YouTube, the Advertising Standards Authority has revealed. Three parents contacted the ASA after their children saw ads for Insidious: The Last Key - rated 15 in the UK. One ad for the film was shown before videos of songs from Frozen, instructions for building a Lego fire station and a clip from the cartoon PJ Masks. The video site added the ads had not appeared on YouTube Kids, an app aimed specifically at children that offers a filtered selection of YouTube content. "We considered the ads were unsuitable for children because they were excessively frightening and shocking, and were likely to cause fear and distress," the ASA said in its ruling. The BBC understands that it is now limiting its ads for mature content to a pre-vetted list of safe YouTube channels.

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