A 13+ year old can create an account, upload and view videos; but youtube is not intended to be kid friendly? That sounds about right.

From one of the links provided above:
"Children under 13 years are not permitted to access YouTube". Um, yes they are.

I don't know... it's pretty easy to type YouTube DOT com and start viewing - no matter how old one is. Yes, it is up to the parents to keep tabs, but come on - the reality of it is that not every kid has involved parents/guardians, many kids have phones with internet access, not every kid follows the rules, etc, etc. Would it be that big of a deal for Google/YouTube to do a little more? - to accept a little responsibility? - more than a few lines in the Terms of Service that say, "If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use the Service. There are lots of other great web sites for you. Talk to your parents about what sites are appropriate for you." That is lawsuit prevention 101, not genuin concern.

That's like pasting a centerfold on a billboard and then writing up a terms of service that says, "don't look if you are under 18!" Or putting a case of beer in a room with 20, 16 year-olds and attaching a note that says, "we won't know if you drink this, but please don't! You can always drink water instead."

Why not require full registration before gaining access to any of the videos on youtube, AND require the user to be 18+ (by using a verifiable means)?