Google says it plans additional privacy measures to protect teenage users on YouTube and its search engine, becoming the latest technology giant to adopt tougher standards in the face of criticism that companies are not doing enough to protect children.

In a blog post, Google announced that videos uploaded to YouTube by users 13–17 years old would be private by default, allowing the content to be seen only by the users and people they designate.

Google also will start to allow anyone under 18 years old, or a parent or guardian, to request the removal of that person’s images from Google Image search results, the company said. It is unclear whether this process will be easy and responsive, considering Google’s historical reluctance to remove items from search results.

In addition, Google said it would turn off location history for all users younger than 18 and eliminate the option for them to turn it back on.

The company plans to roll out the changes in the “coming weeks,” it said.

Globally there is growing political and regulatory pressure for technology companies to do more to protect children. In the US two recent pieces of proposed legislation would expand the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, to restrict the tracking and targeting of teenagers.

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Google has repeatedly faced scrutiny over its handling of data related to children. In 2019, it agreed to pay a $US170 million ($231 million) fine for violating COPPA by collecting the data of children under 13 without parental consent.

Google’s announcement comes on the heels of changes unveiled last month by Facebook to protect teenage users on Instagram. Among the advertising and privacy policy changes, one will make accounts created by children under 16 private by default, Instagram said.