Popular video streaming website YouTube today introduced a new filter that will enable the parents to control the level of offensive content that can possibly be exposed to their kids, such as videos with graphic violence, sexual content etc. Safety Mode, as YouTube has named it, also hides all comments that are usually displayed under the video that is being viewed by default.

Though the concept is not new, as Google has long banned questionable content, including pornography and videos with graphic violence, animal abuse etc. But the new Safety Mode takes it a step further. It adds another layer of protection to keep children and sensitive adults from provocative material.

Writing on The Official YouTube Blog Associate Product Manager Jamie Davidson wrote, "An example of this type of content might be a newsworthy video that contains graphic violence such as a political protest or war coverage".

But there are hurdles as well. Head of the child safety policy for YouTube, Scott Rubin admits, “With millions of videos on YouTube, the filtering will be a challenge. It's a formidable job,” He adds. “With 20 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, we really count on our community members… to know our community guidelines, those rules of the road, to flag videos they think violate the rules.”