YouTube To Disable Comments On Most Videos Featuring Kids In Response To Boycott

SAN FRANCISCO (CBSLA/AP) -- YouTube says it will turn off comments on most videos that feature kids after advertisers began boycotting the site last week in response to inappropriate comments made on videos of minors.

Suspending comments from the videos will happen over the next several months. Only a small number of channels with videos of kids will be able to keep comments on and will have to actively monitor them.

Last week, the site began disabling comments from tens of millions of videos. Advertisers including AT&T and Epic Games pulled ads from YouTube after reports showed that pedophiles were commenting on innocuous videos of children.

The site is also dealing with concerns from parents over the so-called "Momo Challenge", which features a figure with large, protruding eyes and a distorted mouth who appears in the middle of otherwise child-friendly content with a voice chanting, "Momo, momo. Momo's going to kill you."

The videos also reportedly encourage kids and young people to commit suicide.

YouTube issued a statement Wednesday saying they've seen "no recent evidence" of videos promoting the Momo Challenge.

The internet's most popular video site is also grappling with moderating content on its site as concerns ranging from conspiracy theories to violence continue to plague it.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)