YouNow
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|---|---|
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| "Express Yourself" | |
| Video portal | |
| languages | English, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish |
| operator | YouNow Inc. , New York City |
| Registration | Facebook account (optional), Twitter account (optional), Google account (optional), for streaming, commenting and rating. |
| http://www.younow.com/ | |
YouNow ([ ˈjuːnaːu ]; Eng . "You Now") is a video portal of the US company YouNow Inc. based in New York City . Users can watch, rate and even stream live streams on the portal for free .
use
The popularity of YouNow founded in the large number of users younger age, which either operate even streams (also called "Broadcasts") or watch the streams of other users to rate and comment ( network effect ). YouNow rose to become the leading live stream portal for children and young people on the Internet in 2015.
functionality
If you want to use YouNow, log into the service with your Facebook, Gmail, Apple, or Twitter account details. Access to the email address and contact details is required. The user must be at least 13 years old and confirm this, but there is no verification. Then you enter a username under which you want to stream or participate in the chat. The chat window is to the right of the video window, in which the live stream of the user can be seen. You can ask them questions via chat or send gifts in the form of emojis (= stickers or icons) or likes to show their appreciation. This allows the streaming user to move up a ranking. This also depends on the number of viewers, which is constantly changing and can range from a few to several thousand, depending on the level of awareness of the user. Most users talk about their everyday lives, but there are also some users who play music, sing or draw. Well-known musicians or actors also use the opportunity to stream on YouNow.
history
YouNow was founded in June 2011 by Adi Sideman . YouNow bought the live streaming company BlogTV.com in 2013, and YouNow took over the user accounts.
In Germany , usage increased at the end of 2014 with increased activity by well-known YouTube stars on YouNow, so that their fans also discovered the platform. In January 2015, 16 million streams were already broadcast from Germany.
criticism
Although YouNow's Terms of Service do not allow streams with underage protagonists under the age of 13 or with sexual content, these streams are sometimes not stopped in time after viewers have declared them to be inappropriate. Since no age verification is carried out when registering, YouNow meets with criticism, especially from youth activists and the German media. Even neo-Nazis whose live broadcasts on Youtube were prohibited by the German authorities, resorted to YouNow.
A scientific study on YouNow found indications of possible legal violations in more than half of the streams examined. According to this, approx. 37% of all broadcasts from Germany violate copyright law (because of music in the background), 12% against personal rights, another 8% contain insults or show alcohol or drug consumption by minors and 0.9% contained sexual content.
In addition, the anonymity of the audience is criticized, which has sometimes already led to suggestive comments that, among other things, urge minors to be sexually portrayed. The Ministry of Family Affairs also considers "communication offers like YouNow to be highly problematic". On request, YouNow asserts that it will enforce the terms of use with the help of its moderation team.
User profiles of the streaming platform YouNow published
On May 23, 2017, a group of hackers captured and published over a million user profiles on the live streaming service YouNow. The platform is particularly popular with minors, who often provide private insights into their lives there.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Statements by the Family Ministry on YouNow , faz.net, February 18, 2015
- ^ YouNow Terms of Use. YouNow Inc., accessed February 5, 2015 .
- ↑ http://www.younow.com/policy/de/trust
- ↑ Look, I'm popular! In: Zeit Online . February 5, 2015, accessed February 5, 2015 .
- ↑ Livestreams from Germany's children's rooms. (No longer available online.) In: Stern TV . February 4, 2015, archived from the original on February 5, 2015 ; Retrieved February 4, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Deep insights into the children's room. In: Stern Online . February 3, 2015, accessed February 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Employees of the Bavarian State Government: Internet radio and television FSN. In: Bavaria against right-wing extremism. Retrieved February 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Honka, A., Frommelius, N., Mehlem, A., Tolles, JN, & Fietkiewicz, KJ (2015). How safe is YouNow? An empirical study on possible law infringements in Germany and the United States. The Journal of MacroTrends in Social Science, 1 (1), 1-17. Retrieved March 4, 2016 .
- ↑ YouNow - The playground for sex offenders and pedophiles ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. February 17, accessed February 18, 2015.
- ↑ Youth advocates warn against streaming site , faz.net, February 18, 2015
- ↑ heise online: User profiles of the streaming platform YouNow published. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
