Brock Nelson, a 12-year-old food reviewer, lost access to his popular YouTube channel due to an age verification issue.
HOUSTON — For 12-year-old Brock Nelson, food reviews were more than a hobby; they were his passion.
From his family’s home in north Houston, Brock built a loyal YouTube following under the channel Bangin’ with Brock, serving up funny, high-energy reviews of everything from spicy ramen to fast-food burgers.
“It blew up instantly, in the first ten minutes, it was 10,000 views already,” Brock said about one of his earliest videos.
In just a year, his channel gained more than 80,000 subscribers. But a few months ago, that success came to a halt when Brock was suddenly locked out of his account.
Brock’s parents, Kristine and Harith Nelson, said they were shocked when YouTube sent a message saying the account could be disabled.
“We saw the notification that his account was going to be shut down if we couldn’t verify his age of being 13 or older,” Kristine said.
At first, YouTube flagged the account because Brock was underage. Later, the issue became verifying parental supervision, even though the Nelsons say their email was linked to help manage it.
“For him to get monetized, we had to show we were his parents and were monitoring it,” Harith said. “We thought that would cover everything.”
A YouTube spokesperson told KHOU 11 the channel had only been hidden, and that ownership could be transferred to Brock’s parents, but the family says they’re still waiting for that fix.
“It’s been a lot of back and forth,” Harith said. “You get instructions, but the instructions don’t work.”
Despite the setback, Brock is already planning his next move. With his 13th birthday just weeks away, he’s preparing to launch a new version of his channel, complete with upgraded equipment.
“I was devastated,” Brock said. “But I already had a plan to make another one or do something better.”
The Nelsons have launched an online fundraiser to help him get new gear and rebuild his channel from scratch.
“We’re coming back bigger and better, if you can believe it, you can achieve it,” Brock said.
If your kids are creating content online, YouTube recommends setting up parental supervision to ensure they’re in compliance. Parents can do this by linking their account to their child’s through the platform’s Family Center settings.
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