Facebook puts warning labels on graphic videos

Facebook is putting warning labels on graphic videos that members upload and share with friends, the leading social network has said.

The California-based Internet giant will also prevent potentially shocking or upsetting video clips from popping into News Feeds of members whose profiles say they are younger than 18 years old.

Facebook allows children as young as 13 to join.

"When people share things on Facebook, we expect they will share responsibly, including who will see that content," a Facebook spokesman told AFP yesterday.

"In instances when people report graphic content to us that should include warnings, or is not appropriate for people under the age of 18, we may add a warning for adults and prevent young people from viewing the content."

Facebook began adding warnings and age filters in November after the introduction of a feature that causes videos in News Feeds to automatically start playing. Users must now click on warning labels for those videos to play.

The measure was called for by members and advocacy groups, and was endorsed by Facebook's safety board, though labels do not get put on YouTube videos shared at the social network.