AP Photo/Reed Saxon
YouTube CEO Wojcicki.
- YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki told CBS she limits how much her young children use YouTube, only allowing them to use its bespoke kids' app.
- Wojcicki has previously said she also limits her children's screen time more generally, sometimes taking away their phones.
- YouTube has been under intense scrutiny for the way it targets children.
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The CEO of YouTube doesn't want her kids spending too much time on YouTube.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has five children and told CBS in an interview that she limits how much her children use YouTube, only allowing them to use the kids' version of the platform, YouTube Kids.
"So I allow my younger kids to use YouTube Kids, but I limit the amount of time that they're on it. I think too much of anything is not a good thing," she told CBS' Lesley Stahl.
YouTube Kids is a separate platform to regular YouTube, with more heavily-curated child-friendly content to protect young users from encountering inappropriate content.
It is not a foolproof system however. Last year, Business Insider found the app recommended conspiracy theory videos. In 2017, the New York Times reported that deeply disturbing videos were making it past YouTube Kids' safeguards, such as nightmarish animations showing cartoon characters dying in grisly ways.
This isn't the first time Wojcicki has spoken about curtailing how much time her kids spend online. Earlier this year she said she will sometimes take her children's phones away, especially when away on vacation, in an effort to help them "focus on being present."
She's not the only tech CEO to impose rules on her children's screen time.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai doesn't allow his 11-year-old son a cellphone, and Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel only allows his children 1.5 hours of screen time per week.
YouTube in particular has been criticized for the way it targets children. In September the company paid a $170 million settlement to the FTC for illegally amassing children's data and subsequently announced it would roll out stricter rules surrounding kids' content, such as ceasing to serve personalized ads on video aimed at children.
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