Facebook puts warning labels on graphic videos, uses age filters in bid to make members ‘share responsibly’

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Facebook has begun putting warning labels on graphic videos and using age filters to prevent young people viewing certain content.

The California-based internet giant said it would add warning labels to graphic videos that members uploaded, where it believed it was appropriate.

The company said it would also prevent potentially shocking or upsetting video clips from popping into the news feeds of members whose profiles list them as being younger than 18 years old.

Facebook allows children as young as 13 to join the network.

“When people share things on Facebook, we expect they will share responsibly, including who will see that content,” a Facebook spokesman told AFP.

“In instances when people report graphic content to us that should include warnings, or is not appropriate for people under the age of 18, we may add a warning for adults and prevent young people from viewing the content.”

Facebook began adding warnings and age filters in November after the introduction of a feature that causes videos in news feeds to automatically start playing.

Users must now click on warning labels for those videos to play.

The measure was called for by members and advocacy groups and endorsed by Facebook’s safety board.

However, YouTube videos shared on the social network will not be tagged with labels.