YouTube algorithm recommends eating disorder content to teens despite safety rules
Research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate found YouTube's recommendation algorithm continues to suggest eating disorder content to teenage users, with one in 10 recommended videos featuring harmful material despite new UK safety regulations. The regulator Ofcom stated the platform was not doing enough to protect young people from such content.
What happened
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate created a simulated account for a 13-year-old girl viewing unsafe diet and body image content for the first time and monitored YouTube's Up Next algorithm recommendations.
The researchers found that one in 10 videos recommended by the algorithm featured thinspiration, extreme calorie restriction or other harmful material, although the situation had improved over the past two years.
Reported impact
Telecoms regulator Ofcom said YouTube and TikTok were still not doing enough to keep young people safe and called for stronger protections.
Jazmin Kaur, diagnosed with anorexia at 13, said that while some material on YouTube and other sites was helpful, most of it made her feel "a lot worse" and she was "fed such extreme content" that she took it for her own vulnerabilities.
Index analysis
YouTube's recommendations continue to expose teenage users to eating disorder content despite the July 2025 introduction of the Online Safety Act, which requires platforms to protect under-18s from content that encourages self-harm and eating disorders.
Governance controls
Google stated it had a "steadfast" commitment to stopping the spread of harmful content and that the videos highlighted in the CCDH report had been removed.
The Online Safety Act requires sites like YouTube to consider how their algorithms could be harmful to young people and mitigate any risks, with potential fines up to 10% of global revenues for non-compliance.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.