CHILD safety experts have blasted YouTube after it was caught making cash off of child abuse imagery.

Dozens of sick clips uploaded to the site are being used by "paedo rings" to distribute illegal content, but YouTube's algorithms and moderators have repeatedly failed to remove them.

4 YouTube is a haven for paedos Credit: Alamy

To make things worse, the platform posts adverts on the horrific videos, meaning they generate income for the California tech titan with each and every click.

Brands like MacDonald's, Disney, Ikea and Reese's are among several big companies who inadvertently had their adverts played before the clips, according to YouTuber Matt Watson.

His shocking investigation found that paedophiles have formed abominable communities around videos of young children on YouTube.

While the clips don't show nudity – which could be picked up by YouTube's paedo-hunting AI – they do feature children in "compromising positions", Watson said.

4 YouTube has algorithms in place to detect the content, but it's still slipping through Credit: Alamy

In the comments of the clips, paedos post links known as "time-stamps" that take you to specific parts of a video where the children are most exposed.

Comments under the videos are littered with links to explicit abuse images and videos, as well as social media contacts who can help paedos find more repugnant clips.

YouTube's algorithm is even helping the paedo community thrive by recommending more of the clips to users who have watched similar content before.

Watson said: "I have discovered a wormhole into a soft-core paedophile ring on YouTube.

"Youtube’s recommended algorithm is facilitating pedophiles’ ability to connect with each-other, trade contact info, and link to actual child pornography in the comments.

"I can consistently get access to it from vanilla, never-before-used Youtube accounts via innocuous videos in less than ten minutes, in sometimes less than five clicks.

"I'm making this video with only one intention: To bring awareness to it."

YouTube has safety measures in place to detect and take down child abuse content.

4 Paedos have formed horrific communities around the videos Credit: Alamy

That includes otherwise innocuous clips where groups of paedos comment and share their favourite parts.

But while algorithms and human moderators should be picking up the content found by Matt, it appears they're failing miserably.

A YouTube spokesperson told The Sun that it always removed content and terminated accounts flagged as abusive.

They said: "Any content - including comments - that endangers minors is abhorrent and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube.

"We enforce these policies aggressively, reporting it to the relevant authorities, removing it from our platform and terminating accounts. We continue to invest heavily in technology, teams and partnerships with charities to tackle this issue.

4 YouTube says it has a strict policy against child abuse imagery Credit: Alamy

"We have strict policies that govern where we allow ads to appear and we enforce these policies vigorously. When we find content that is in violation of our policies, we immediately stop serving ads or remove it altogether."

A separate spokesperson told The Sun that YouTube had "taken action" against some of the content in Watson's video, including deleting some clips and accounts.

This doesn't add up with Watson's claims.

He says that while several of the paedo accounts he flagged to YouTube had their comments taken down, their profiles remain on the site.

More worrying still was that some of the videos he found had adverts played next to or over them.

Companies including Ikea, Grammarly, Google Chromebook, Lysol, Canada Goose, Reece's, The Walt Disney Company and Canada Goose had their products advertised on the paedo clips.

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A spokesperson for Ikea said: "IKEA advertising placed close to inappropriate material online is unacceptable. We do not tolerate any action that is illegal or violates our values, and we take these matters very seriously."

Child abuse charity the NSPCC said it was "extremely disturbed" by the suggestion YouTube was making money off of abusive videos.

Andy Burrows, NSPCC Associate Head of Child Safety Online, told The Sun: "It is deeply concerning that offenders are able to use YouTube to share links to content that has been clearly edited for their sexual gratification and to make contacts with other abusers, and that the platform’s algorithms are actively pushing this material.

"And the suggestion that YouTube is making money from some of these videos is extremely disturbing.

"Sadly, this is just another example of tech companies not prioritising children’s safety and, once again, shows the only option is for the Government to bring in an independent statutory regulator to force social networks to follow the rules or face tough consequences."

The NSPCC helpline is a place adults can contact by phone or online to get advice or share their concerns about a child, anonymously if they wish. You can reach it on 0808 800 5000.

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