Backbytes: YouTube bans "dangerous challenges and pranks" following car crashes inspired by Bird Box challenge
Crackdown comes after idiots copying popular Netflix show uploaded dangerous stunts to YouTube
Google-owned YouTube has banned creators on its platform from showing "dangerous challenges" and other pranks after a rash of incidents - including accidents caused by stunts such as driving blindfolded.
The challenges were inspired by a film shown on Netflix show called Bird Box. That film depicts a woman and two children who must make their way through a dense wilderness and across a river blindfolded.
The ban has come in an update to the company's community guidelines and been spelt out on the site's Dangerous Challenges and Pranks FAQ.
"Content that encourages violence or dangerous activities that may result in serious physical harm, distress or death violates our harmful and dangerous policy, so we're clarifying what this means for dangerous challenges and pranks," the company's community guidelines update stated.
It continued: "YouTube is home to many beloved viral challenges and pranks, but we need to make sure what's funny doesn't cross the line into also being harmful or dangerous.
"We've updated our external guidelines to make it clear that we prohibit challenges presenting a risk of serious danger or death, and pranks that make victims believe they're in serious physical danger, or cause children to experience severe emotional distress."
It comes after a member of the public in the US last week copied a YouTube video published by George Janko and Jake Paul driving blindfolded - with predictable results. That video was removed last week.
Netflix has also advised fans of the film not to try to recreate scenes, whether filmed for YouTube or not. It comes a year or so after YouTube had to remove videos of people attempting the ‘Tide pod challenge' - a challenge involving the consumption of laundry pods. There have also been a wave of YouTube-inspire immolations caused by so-called ‘Fire challenge'.
On the plus side, there have never been so many entries in the Darwin Awards.