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Devastated father says his 9-year-old son spent $118,000 on YouTube ad campaigns for his Minecraft channel using a company credit card — bill racked up in just three weeks was supposed to be one $20 (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 67 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (8 children)

IMO that's not the issue

The issue is the lack of safeguards. In our rush to call out the dad based on the headline, we shouldn't let Google and the banks off the hook. The dad should have set limits on the card/account and paid closer attention to the kid's view/ad activities, but both google and the banks benefitted from the poor design/usability issues that led to this.

EDIT: Since it was the company card, maybe the dad couldn't have set limits on there. He used the company card on an older purchase, and since it was tied to his account, google offered the card as a payment option when the kid went to boost his ad. While I'm at it, screw the advertising industry that made YouTube into the mess it is now.

As for this bit

why is a 9 year old even allowed to post to YouTube

I remember about 15 years ago, a lot of kids wanted to post gameplay videos and music/art they made to YouTube. Some parents handled that poorly yes, but others took the time to watch the videos and approve them before anything was uploaded.

Kids want to explore their interests and it can be healthy to explore it with them, and teach them things along the way. Telling them no outright might push them to do it anyway, but this time without supervision.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 weeks ago

    It's ultimately a parenting failure. But there should be way more education for young adults about online safety and parental controls.

    If the parent is in full control, then they can upload their content, thats more responsible. I dont personally agree with it anyway, I think 9 is far too young to expose to the internet like that.

    I think YouTube should require a password everytime you make a purchase, but still this wouldnt have happened if the parents were better educated. They learnt a hard lesson.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    Google make it obnoxiously hard to use a card just once. You have to explicitly delete it, and cancel or individually move every subscription an account may have to other payment methods before it can be deleted

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  • [+] -8 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

    Yes, parents have to let kids do anything they want because kids will do it anyway. Parenting 101.

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  • [–] 25 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

    I read it more as, if your kid is intent on something, rather than slap them down, try and work with them to turn it into a positive experience.

    Most kids adore doing stuff with their parents. It lets them practice adult skills, with the safety net of a trusted adult behind them.

    With something like streaming, it would be down to the parent to keep them safe and let them explore their creativity. It sounds like this dad screwed that up, but is trying to at least own his part of that.

    There are nuances between feral parenting and helicopter parenting.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

    And if kids want to do something stupid it's ok to explain to them why it's stupid and propose something else.

    What if they want to film Jackass type content? Or "pranks"? Or play american football? Or read Harry Potter? Part of parenting is guiding your children to more fulfilling hobbies, not just letting them chase everything that's trending at the moment.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    Fully agreed on that. There is also a balance of allowing them to explore an idea space, while keeping them clear of risks and negative problems.

    E.g. my minion is currently obsessed with Minecraft. They are actually getting quite good at the design part too. They want to play online though. I'm not happy with that, so I am setting up a private server. It will be whitelist access only. They will be able to play online and talk with their friends through Minecraft, but not random players online. When they are older, I'll allow it, but only when I am in the (physical) room, keeping an eye on things.

    If you try and shoehorn your kids into only what you think is acceptable, then you will have problems. If you have shown you will help them explore their own interests, they will come to you with them. If you regularly shut them down, they will go behind your back, where you have no control.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 weeks ago

    And this is a great way to do it. Kudos.

    As you say, it's all about balance. You don't want to isolate your kid from all of their friends but you also don't want them to do every stupid TikTok trend because all the other kids do it.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 weeks ago

    I'm not sure how you got that from that comment.

    Kids want to explore their interests and it can be healthy to explore it with them, and teach them things along the way. Telling them no outright might push them to do it anyway, but this time without supervision.

    Basically, teach your kid how things work rather than just telling them "no."

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